Best Laid Plans
by Bamboofoxfire Productions
Summary: "Well, look on the bright side. At least the bandit that captured and is probably going to give you a long, slow death via horrible torture is very good looking." [Skyrim AU] {Laven} {Mild Lavena} Dragonborn!Allen, Dragon!Noahs
1. Horrible Choices

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>This was an awful idea.<p>

Lavi wondered more days than was strictly necessary how the Empire was managing to survive this war. It certainly wasn't their ability to make smart decisions. At least not that he could see.

It had boggled his mind for the longest time how they had lost to the Thalmor and _actually _agreed to sign the White-Gold Concordat. The entire thing had been a major botch. Yes, the battle of Red Ring had done lasting damage, but not _that much_ of it. It wasn't a matter of tactical surrender for lack of strength to fight off the Aldmeri Dominion. It was a matter of bad calls and poor leadership from someone who really shouldn't have been Emperor. To expect that banning the worship of one of the Divines and surrendering when there was no need would not create waves was a fool's thinking.

But then again, people were known idiots. Hoping for better was hoping for too much.

He was almost rooting for the Stormcloaks to win, if not for the fact that he was supposed to remain neutral. Blatant stupidity, however, made it really hard not to take sides.

And blatant stupidity was how he found himself here, up on the godforsaken, northernmost shores of Skyrim, freezing his ass off on a high cliff overlooking the Sea of Ghosts between Dawnstar and Winterhold. The only thing even _slightly _tolerable was that at least his escorts were smart enough to pick an old, abandoned lighthouse to camp in, rather than flimsy tents on the open mountainside being their only source of shelter from the cold.

That one, little blessing, however, was not one to last.

After spending a night around a fire and cramped in with several of their horses, which helped keep things a little warmer during the night, they tacked up the animals early in the morning and headed out just as the sun was rising and bathed the land in faint gold light. Sunlight or not, it was _frigid _outside. Even hunching over close to his horse did very little to keep the redhead from feeling the sting of the arctic land.

Couldn't just take the main road further south. _Nooooo_. They had to go the hardest, coldest, most unenjoyable route in existence. Not to mention dangerous. North was where the big beasties lived; snow bears, snow sabres, frost trolls, not to mention temperamental giants and mammoths that were far less tame than those in Whiterun tundra. Even the most rugged of bandits avoided the north if they could, most of the time. Those that didn't usually ended up dead and buried under several feet of snow with no one the wiser that they were ever there, or dragged off into some Falmer den by the pincers of some Chaurus and mutilated into tiny pieces. He didn't even want to get _started _on the Dwemer ruins. Not to mention Necromancer cults always more than willing to take in wanderers, always willing for more fresh corpses to manipulate with their magick.

Nowhere was safe anywhere between the Hjaalmarch, the Pale, and Winterhold regions. Absolutely nowhere. And yet they were expecting him, a _historian_, not even a hardened soldier, to go traipsing through without anything bad happening.

He must have royally pissed off someone up above, to be slapped with this kind of cruel punishment, and he barely even believed in the Divines. Maybe that was his problem. Faithlessness. Maybe this was how the Gods punished non-believers in their own way.

Somehow that just made him feel like believing even less.

The barely perceptible warmth of the sun was fleeting as they marched on by horseback and clouds overtook the sky, casting the land into poor lighting, and, predictably, the snow started to fall again. As if there wasn't already enough snow.

Only here could rising boulders and hills of ice be found in just as much abundance as the rocky cliffs themselves, and Lavi hated it. It wasn't bad enough that he had to be aware of what a precarious place this was to be, but the nervousness of the men was contagious to both him and the animals. Even the sight of a mammoth, half-frozen in ice still standing, its side sprinkled in Dwarven bolts that were probably centuries old, was a horrifying view.

How easily could that also be them, frozen within blocks of cold, lost and then found again perhaps hundreds of years later?

_Too easily_.

Was this mission really worth so much that their lives were worth risking so sparingly?

Just walking between spires of rising ice was making everyone in the traveling party anxious, and when one of the blocks suddenly creaked and shifted, threatening to crush them between it and another wall of ice, both man and horse startled and picked up the pace, even though the torrent of snow was blinding and made it nearly impossible to see more than ten feet ahead.

A roar and the sudden rise of a shape just as large as any horse announced a snow bear that they had been too blinded to know to avoid, the snow and wind whipping in their eyes, and they didn't escape without a casualty.

Lavi was only glad that it hadn't been _him_.

Everyone was glad to be out of the ice ravines and along the open shore of the sea, but every so often the rising ice to their right would shift loudly or a head-sized chunk would flake off and clatter, momentarily spooking them and causing thoughts of running, just in case an avalanche started. The College came into view from below, but Lavi was wistfully aware that they would not be finding a warm room and food in Winterhold city's inn this night, or any other building there for that matter, instead passing under the arch and continuing on their way.

The further they progressed, the more he knew it was only a matter of time before something happened. Luck was always a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off, and so far they'd been having too much of it. He knew better than to hope, and he was right.

As they were passing through more ice ravines, he saw something up ahead, and wasn't the only one to notice.

When they drew close enough to examine it properly, a man leapt down off of his horse to inspect it, the corpse of a person freshly slain.

The soldier turned the corpse over, looking at it more closely, before he glanced up again.

"Clean cut. This was done by a blade, not a beast."

Lavi's horse sidled nervously, and he couldn't help but glance up the walls of ice on either side of them, that was forcing them almost single-file. Perfect place for an ambush. Perfect place to cut off escape and rain down Oblivion from above. Impossible place to defend themselves from against an enemy.

Oh, how he hated when it all snapped together, because he was right.

One of the horses brayed pain and panic as arrows lodged into both its hide and the rider, who jolted and pulled the reigns too far to one side, toppling both himself and his steed over and becoming half-crushed under the flailing animal. Another man cried out and fell, and everything fell into chaos. Ice and stone avalanched behind them and blocked their previous route, forcing them to go forward, but the horses were too frightened and just as blinded by the snow to choose a proper direction as a group of people dropped down from above, effectively cutting off the other direction with their own mass.

Lavi cursed and unlatched a warhammer from the saddle, bludgeoning one of the men - a bandit, from what he could tell - in the head, caving it in like a hammer to a melon.

Another man charged in and he pulled back on the reigns, his horse rearing and kicking out, forcing the man to retreat while Lavi spun his horse around and kicked it into action.

He glanced off to the side, but the other men, the soldiers, were already being overwhelmed. Sure, they cut down one or two bandits, left a few more with wounds to remember, but they couldn't last. They were outnumbered, tired from travel, and had been ambushed none the wiser until it was too late. There was no hope of fending off the attackers, and he had no intention of waiting for anyone else only to be slain because of it. First rule of a Bookman - self-preservation above all else.

He galloped by them and barely dodged a blade on one side, only for another bandit to grab him around the waist and try to drag him off his horse, grabbing his weapon so he couldn't swing it. He steered his horse partially sideways as it struggled to run and rammed the man into one of the walls of ice, knocking him under-hoof to get trampled as his horse kept going.

An arrow lodged in his shoulder and he stifled a bark of pain, but didn't stop or let himself jerk back the reins and jeopardize his own escape, focusing on ahead and whatever was behind him be damned.

"Come on, you can do it," he breathed encouragingly, his horse having trouble up the slope, but still managing to plow ahead of the bandits. "Just a little more, come on." They broke past the ravine and onto open ground, heading up towards where several pillars and a stone platform stood. "That's it, come on!"

He grinned victory as he glanced back, the bandits having much more trouble trying to pursue through the snow and falling behind. It was very short-lived triumph, the redhead turning around just in time for a solid white shape to pop up, seemingly out of nowhere, and lunge for him.

The only thing he had time for was the declare quite profusely, "_FUCK!_", before a solid blow hit his head, and the only thing he was awake long enough to be aware of was landing in a pile of snow.


	2. Beauty Among the Beasts

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Lavi groaned, his throbbing temple resting against the ground as he stirred back to consciousness.<p>

Should he hope he was alive, or dead?

Blinking his single eye open and glancing up, perhaps it would have been better to be the latter over the former. His gaze was met with darkness only pierced by the poor flicker of a torch and he could make out the silhouette of cage metal bars. Since he was primarily doing his job on the Legion's side of things, he either had to be in a Stormcloak jail, or someone else's prisoner.

_Gods I hope they aren't Necromancers. _Or vampires. Vampires were simply the worst. At least the Necromancers might kill him _somewhat _humanely. They didn't like to damage their goods too much, after all.

In either case, he'd really prefer not to die today.

He pushed himself up, only to stop as he hissed, angry fire springing to life in his shoulder. He reached a hand back from the opposite arm to finger a feathered arrow-end. Oh, right. Maybe that meant he hadn't been here very long though, if someone hadn't already removed it.

_Or maybe they just don't care if you get an infection and die. _Somehow that was probably the more likely possibility. Unfortunately, the only thing he could do about it was leave it in. He just didn't have the right angle to pull it out even half-properly, and there was no telling what it might have hit. Arrow wounds were notorious for making one bleed to death after they were removed, unless they could be treated properly. Not something the wounded could usually do on their own. It took too much precision.

Getting to his feet and trying to be careful not to jar the wound too much, he staggered to the bars and peered through them toward the side, trying to get an idea for his circumstances, extending all of his senses.

The heavy reek of saltwater and ice... and bloated wood panels. The sound of waves crashing and ice creaking. The structure he was on, though, wasn't bobbing or moving like a ship out on water. Must be a wrecked boat. The ground was slightly slanted, not flat, and a faint glimmer on the far side cornering the wall confirmed that it was probably a grounded ship. Plus, a cold breeze was still managing to tickle by, so there was an opening somewhere. He was aware of a bed roll on the other side of the room, and the ratting of cloth, that he now realized was making up one of the 'walls' of the room, trying to keep the snow and the wind out. It must still be a blizzard outside.

He tensed as he heard footsteps overhead and light illuminated a wood stairway, several figures appearing, all dressed in leathers and furs, some with armor atop the under-layer of clothing. He watched them carefully, trying to judge their intent, but knew full well that he might not get his answer before he got a blade through his gut. And if he did get his answer, he probably wasn't going to like it.

The faces of the bandits, familiarly grizzled and unfriendly, marred by scars, some others by war-paint, sized him up and down as they approached with a torch in-hand. Were they going to kill him, or did they have something else in mind?

"Unlock the cell," one of them muttered to another, receiving a nod as the other one stepped forward. Lavi instinctively stepped back without needing to be told, knowing the proper 'etiquette' of prisoner behavior, if one could call it that, to keep from instigating any unnecessary violence or put the jailors on edge, trying to look as non-threatening as possible, but still keeping his guard up.

When the door creaked open, the man with the torch nodded to his other men.

"Subdue him."

Lavi withheld a curse as two of them rushed in and grabbed hold of him, not really having anywhere to go, and being aware that backing himself to the wall and resisting would prove impossible without lodging the arrow in his back deeper. Shoes scuffed over wood and after a few moments of struggle, Lavi was thrown down and pinned, biting the inside of his cheek as his face hit the floor and making him wince at the slight taste of blood. He tried to push himself back up but with three men keeping him flush face-first against the floor and pinning his wrists, knees pressing down on the back of his thighs, it was nearly impossible.

"Going to kill me?" he managed to grind out through a tight jaw, single eye peering up towards the one who seemed to be in charge.

"Not for me to decide," the torch-holder grumped, before nodding towards the stairs. Lavi's eye wandered to two shapes moving in the dim lighting, coming down the stairs now. One was dressed the same as all the others. The second he thought he recognized, but he had to think to recall from where, then he remembered the solid white thing that had pounced on him and knocked him into the snow. He had assumed that it had been a snow sabre before, but apparently he was wrong about that. It was a person dressed in bright white, much more easily giving him away in the shadows, making a poor attempt at staying hidden in the darkness of the ship.

Out in the open snow and ice of the northern coast though, it would make him absolutely invisible, especially in white-out conditions that so frequently hit the area.

He had been so distracted by the white-clad figure that he only now noticed the scent of heated metal and the glaring tip of hot iron, squirming apprehension under several pairs of hands keeping him from either fighting back or escaping.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what _that _was for, even before one of the men grabbed the shaft of the arrow still lodged in his shoulder. The only plus side was, at least if they cared whether he bled to death or not, it meant that they weren't going to outright kill him.

There was no further warning before the arrow was worked out of his flesh, the red-haired male having to bite his lip to stifle any noises of pain that rang in the back of his throat, but he knew that wasn't the worst of it. It was _never _the worst of it.

He was less capable or willing to hold back a shout of pain and several loud expletives as the searing metal was pressed to his wound and he almost managed to throw off all three or four men that were holding him down, putting up a valiant struggle that had a few almost sweating with strain, before the small burst of adrenaline seeped out and he collapsed again, breathing hard through the pain.

Would have been nice if they'd put some snow or cold water on his wound too, to numb the burning, but they weren't quite _that _generous with his well-being. And since they weren't going to give him that much, he highly doubted they would spare any sort of potion to quell it either.

"What do you want, exactly?"

The figure flicked their head to him, and he was only now just noticing things he hadn't before.

The one that had ambushed him was younger than he was, and certainly a lot younger than the rest of this lot of bandits. Not only that, but he was everything opposite of the ruggedness one expected of his kind. His features were angled, but soft, not a single hair covering his chin or lip against the cold as one might expect. What Lavi had thought was a part of the fur-lined cowl he wore was actually his own hair, locks as white as the freshly fallen snow outside. Even the scar that marked one eye, pink against pale skin, did nothing to detract from his good looks. If anything, it just added something to them.

This wasn't someone who should be some brutal blood-spilling highwayman. This was a young man who should have been sitting on the throne of a Hold amongst aristocracy, or the son of the Emperor in the White-Gold Tower of Cyrodiil, catered to day and night by people with far less physical blessings.

"You're not a soldier for the Legion, but you must be important for them to waste resources guarding you," the kid spoke, eyeing Lavi and his fine clothing with a wise intensity beyond his years, having a quick knack for spotting something of value when he saw it. "I'm sure someone would pay better gold than the coin we found between your entire traveling party to get you back."

Oh, he was a sharp one alright.

"So you're going to ransom me back to the Legion?"

The young man smiled with far too much fake innocence, sending inward shivers down the redhead's spine. "I could do that," he hummed speculatively. "I guess it all depends on who wants to pay more for you. The Legion, or the Stormcloaks."

Oh fuck, was he screwed now.

"And why would the Stormcloaks have any interest in me?" he questioned, playing stupid. Hopefully this young man had no idea as to his true significance.

"I guess we'll just have to find out, now won't we?"

So he didn't know.

Then again, he didn't have to. All he had to go off of was an educated hunch, and let things play out and reveal themselves naturally. This kid was good. He probably had more brains than all the other men here combined. Probably more than all the stuffy, overinflated codgers in the Imperial City that thought they could run an entire continent just swimmingly too, despite a track record that spoke otherwise.

And right now, that was looking very bad for him.

"And what if it turns out I'm not worth buying?"

The smile thinned, giving him all the warning he needed. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that." He spun around and motioned to his men to take their leave and lock up again. "Let him up."

The men stood, allowing him to sit up, and they exited the cage, locking it up again with an audible _crick. _He watched them all shuffle out, pitching him almost entirely back into darkness, but at least he had the assurance that they wouldn't be outright killing him. And this ship wasn't going anywhere.

They would have to make some travel arrangements that wouldn't end in him being able to escape, which meant he had time to plan to do just that. First thing was first, he needed to get out of this cell. And as it just so happened, he had at least one lock-pick still stashed on his persons that they hadn't managed to catch and take away from him.


	3. So Much for Not Dying

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Anyone who had ever been imprisoned, especially the frequenters, knew how to hide things in places that they wouldn't be found. Sometimes that meant stowing them in places no one wanted to mention, either, and the redhead was just glad he wasn't forced to resort to being just such a one.<p>

For all the smarts of his albino bandit captor, they sure had gotten sloppy about checking him for anything he could use as a means of escape, even if they had relieved him of his weapons. The guards in the Holds always relieved prisoners of their own clothes for a reason, but this lot didn't seem wise enough to do the same.

That was going to be their downfall, because it was more than easy to find places to stash lock-picks and Lavi never went anywhere without.

Bandits should have known better, but as he thought more times a day than he could count on both hands, people, as a general rule, were stupid. Arrogant and full of themselves about their intelligence, sure. No one was arguing that. But, in all honesty, incredibly dumb creatures.

He couldn't be sure the time of day going by the light. For one, he wasn't allowed much of it, and what glimpses he did get were through the folds of makeshift cloth walls that the wind and snow outside battered and occasionally blew open the gaps between them. It could be night. It could be the high point of day. It was impossible to tell through the snow in the confines of this makeshift jail.

Luckily, though, lock-picking didn't require sight to do properly. If anything, sight was worse. It was a skill that took more finesse through feel and sound than anything.

He listened carefully for sounds of anyone above deck, even the smallest creek of footsteps, but he heard nothing. Hopefully his captors were away, or sleeping, or any number of other things that would keep them from coming to check on him and make sure he stayed put. Hopefully they were full of self-assurance that he had no way of getting away from them.

Since he was alone and there were no other signs of life to be heard or seen, he slipped his hands through the bars and began to work on trying to get the lock open. It certainly wasn't the kind that a novice could pick apart. Not easily at any rate. He cursed as one of his picks broke and he carefully set it down without noise, before pulling another one out from a small pocket made between the layers of his boot, going back to work.

He took his while carefully to get the lock open, trying to gauge the tension of the pick and keep it from snapping again, backing off when he was afraid it would break. He barely dared breathe, not so much scared of getting caught as needing to listen to the mechanisms in the lock move.

He froze as he heard it give an indicative click and glanced up toward the ceiling, listening, but no one other than him had heard it.

So far so good.

He pushed the door open and winced as its unoiled hinges creaked deadly loud in the silence, but nothing above stirred even now, so he held it open with just enough room to slip through and shut it again as quietly and quickly as possible.

Creeping to the makeshift wall, he pulled one of the flaps back and narrowed his eye against the snow that blasted his face, trying to get an idea for where he was, but all he could make out was a wall of white and large waves foaming below. A white-out. Lovely.

He walked to the other side of the room silently, water splashing up from a square hole in the deck that led to the lowest level, which was entirely submerged. He certainly wasn't escaping that way. Only way to go now was up.

When he did, it was carefully, wincing inwardly every time a stair creaked underfoot and threatened to give him away, but when he reached the topside room, he saw no one. Only some empty beds and a post hung with dead salmon.

A faint glow outside announced a fire, glancing out of the doorway to a cooking spit, but no one occupied it that was within sight. Perhaps around the corner, but not directly outside where they could spot him sneaking out. The sight of an iceberg side gleaming with orange highlights confirmed what he'd originally guessed, that this ship was wrecked and abandoned. Perfect place for bandits to stake out and use for shelter, at least temporarily.

Walking the opposite way of the fire and peering around the corner, he saw no one at all, and leaned over the railing of the ship, squinting into the raging snow. The only thing he could make out was water below, tossing to and fro with the wind and creating waves a few feet high, knocking chunks of ice into each other. Beyond that, he couldn't see anything. No land nor buildings or landmarks that could tell him where he was.

Fucking perfect.

He'd hazard a guess at the Sea of Ghosts, but that was a large expanse. Certainly large enough that he would easily fall to the elements long before he ever found even a _hint _of civilization. But that was probably the point. No use hiding out somewhere that was easy to find and adventurers or guards could find easily and exterminate those camping out within like a common skeever infestation.

He froze as the back of his neck prickled in a very _There's-something-behind-me-isn't-there _kind of way, taking one careful breath, two, then turned around, his eye wandering up the roof of the ship cabin. Sure enough.

He cursed under his breath as the white-clad male leapt down at him and he dove to the side, rolling across the deck and back to his feet. He didn't waste even a second, taking off sprinting across the deck and leaping the short gap of the other half of the ship, running for the bow, up onto the wood railing, and further onto the flat of an iceberg where it had initially crashed in the first place.

He didn't even spare a glance back over his shoulder, even though he was tempted, knowing that even if the other guy wasn't directly behind him, it would slow him down to much and risk getting himself caught.

Turned out he didn't need to look to find out anyway, because the other man bowled into his shoulders and sent them both flying forward, hitting a hill of snow and tumbling down the slope in a tangle of limbs, making the world spin rapidly as chunks of ice and rock struck his sides and back. They didn't stop rolling until the very bottom and the white-haired young man kicked Lavi off of him to hit icy water that knocked what breath the redhead had left from his lungs, just from the pure shock of the cold, and scrambled to find the surface again.

It wasn't hard, the water not being too deep and the waves churning them back to shore, but just as soon as he pushed himself up and took a breath of much needed air, fingers gripped his hair like a vice and forced him back under, pinning him face-first under the waves as the smaller figure sat on his shoulders. Panic was not a thing the Junior Bookman felt often, but oh, he was definitely panicking, flailing, and kicking, taking on water and starting to lose his senses.

Just when he thought his lungs would burst with ice and salt water, he was yanked back out into air, coughing and sputtering. The frigid air was no kinder on his lungs than the half-frozen seawater had been once he drew some in, and the fight had already left him, laying limp and gasping in the snow.

For about a full minute, the only sound that reached his ears was the howling wind and the wheezing of his own lungs, and the only part of him that didn't feel painfully cold was where the smaller male was still sitting on his back.

"Having fun yet?" the younger male snarked tauntingly, with no shy amount of smug triumph in his voice.

"Oh yeah," Lavi sneered through several more pants, his throat and torso burning with cold. "Just loads of it."

"Good," the kid quipped, shifting where he sat and pulling the redhead's wrists behind his back, tying them tightly. "Because fun's over."

Lavi didn't struggle at all as the younger male stood and pulled him to his feet by his arms, nor when he marched him back up the hill of snow - which was no easy task to climb and Lavi ended up with a face-full of snow more than once in the attempt - and still not when they reached the ship's deck again. Several pairs of eyes of the other bandits were watching them, but they were unconcerned and quickly disregarded both him and the young bandit, going back to whatever they had been doing before and having never bothered lifting even a finger to help.

Probably because, as experience was teaching him, the young bandit didn't need it.

Instead of going back below deck, they went to a cage located on the top of the ship, the boy swinging open the door and throwing Lavi in unceremoniously. The redhead cussed under his breath as his brow hit one of the bars and he crumpled to the ground, hearing the door slam shut behind him loudly and lock. By the time he managed to wriggle his way around and sit up, the white-haired lad was already marching off elsewhere, leaving him at the mercy of the wind, snow, and cold soaking his clothes, so that all he could do to try and combat it in vain was curl over on himself and try not to succumb.

So much for not dying today.


	4. Congratulations! You Failed

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>There was a metallic clanging, like the repeating gong of a bell, that droned in his head, but he didn't care. Let it keep ringing. All he wanted to do was sleep.<p>

"Hey!"

No. _No_. He didn't care how many times that old Cave-Bear grandfather of his would hit him. He wasn't getting up.

_Just ignore him and sleep._

"Get up!"

Absolutely not. He wouldn't do it. No amount of punishment was bad enough to rob him of his beauty res-

He jumped as a hard kick hit him under the ribs, startling him awake. And fuck, did he regret it. Because everything _hurt _and it was so, damn, _cold_.

He blinked against the driving snow and the frost that had settled on his lashes, his vision taking a while to adjust before he registered metal bars close to his face and shoes beyond it, glancing up. The frown he was met with was disapproving, but not overly concerned beyond that, as far as he could tell.

"I said, _get up,_" the white-haired man snapped at him, tone harsh. "Sleeping out here. What are you, an idiot?"

Lavi blinked stupidly, trying to recall just where in Oblivion he even was, but it came together at last, albeit slowly.

"If you don't, I'll kick you again."

"An' w-why do I-I n-need to get u-up, e-exactly?" Lavi chattered, even as he forced his body, very ungracefully, to sit up, only to fall with his back against the bars behind him. The white-haired man rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Not a very bright one, are you?" Okay, now that was just insulting. "You don't fall asleep in the snow. Even five-year-olds know better."

"A-and hh-who's f-fault i-is that?" Lavi rebuked, drawing his legs to his chest, unable to even slightly quell his shivering. Gods damn, it was freezing.

"Yours," the cheeky little bastard shot back. " 'should have thought of that before you tried to go running off."

"M-m-maybe you sh-should check y-your prisoners f-f-for lock-picks from now o-on... b-before you c-c-complain about them e-s-caping and runnin' a-a-way."

"I knew you had them," Allen retorted. "I just wanted to test whether you were that much of a dumb ass or not. And congratulations! You failed. Idiot."

Lavi chuckled under his breath, melting into a painful cough. "Y-yeah? A-and how wise w-would it be, t-trusting your l-l-life to a bunch o'... d-dirty f-f-fuckin' cut-throats?"

"A lot more wise than running out into and losing yourself in a white-out blizzard."

"Y-y'don' know th-that... I w-would've g-g-gotten lost," Lavi shot back, burying his face against his knees and just wishing for a little warmth that he didn't expect he was going to get. "N-not v-v-ery good t-trade practice... i-if you l-let your p-paycheck d-d-die you kn-know."

"Yes, you would have gotten lost. You don't even know where we are." Well, he had him on that point. "And no, I'm not going to let you die before our business is through."

"C-could've f-fooled m-m-me..." Lavi hummed, feeling like he wanted to just roll over and go back to sleep, despite that he knew, _really _knew, how bad that would be for him. He needed something to focus his thoughts on. Something to keep him from drifting off and going back to a sleep he likely wouldn't wake up from. Maybe he could turn favor in the meantime. "H-hey, wh-what's... y-your name?"

"Why do you care?" the other male shot back passively.

"Just t-tell me." Still nothing. "P-please?" All he got was a mute stare. Was that really such a hard question? "M-mine's L-Lavi." He gazed at the other, trying to look imploring, though he was sure the only thing he probably appeared was miserable and cold. He did notice the other's eyes flick away in thought, but instead of saying anything, he just walked off, leaving Lavi alone again.

_Great. Just ask a guy's name and he leaves you to freeze to death. And he wonders why you'd want to run off._

Curling up and going back to sleep suddenly wasn't seeming like such a bad idea, death or no. Why bother prolonging the inevitable?

He was already working on doing just that when he heard a loud creak of the cage opening again, a firm hand grabbing him by the upper arm.

"Get up."

"M-maybe I d-don't w-w-want to," Lavi murmured belligerently, the numbness and cold in his body doing more of the actual talking than he was.

The order didn't come again, instead the other simply pulling him to his feet and dragging him along to stumble clumsily, his limbs barely even working on auto-pilot anymore, and almost causing them both to trip down the stairs going below deck again. He ended up back in his first cell, now filled with straw, but wasn't thrown down quite so harshly as before, not really bothering to pay attention to much of any of it.

He didn't fully register his arms being untied, but wasn't so out of it that he missed his top being pulled off and being coaxed out of his pants to be replaced with ones that weren't much thicker but dry and not caked in ice and snow either. He was only slightly more alert as a blanket was tossed over him and he snuggled into it more out of instinct than any conscious thought, blowing breath into the covers and trying to speed along getting warm.

"Allen."

Lavi glanced up, his half-lidded eye confused. "What?"

"My name's Allen."

Lavi hummed acknowledgment before snuggling further into the blanket, it taking far longer than he was wanting for it to do any good. The bandit disappeared again for a short while before coming back with steaming food, setting it down within easy reach before going to sit just outside the bars himself, pressing his back against it to eat his own food.

Lavi was more grateful for the meal than anything else so far, and the _warmth _of it, which had even more of a startling contrast than he could ever remember hot food having before now.

For a long while, both ate in utter silence, but Lavi couldn't help but steal a few glances at the lad named Allen, who seemed to be trying his damnedest to ignore his existence now.

Finally Lavi decided it time to shatter that silence.

"How did someone like you end up here?"

Allen glanced over his shoulder. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, here, living this kind of lifestyle. Being a bandit."

Allen only shrugged nonchalance. "Same as anyone else does. Life is cruel."

"You don't have to keep doing this, you know." There was a loud sigh that was impossible to miss, as if he was hearing the same dull lecture that had been spoken to him a thousand times, but Lavi kept going. "You could easily find an honest life. Maybe even make well for yourself doing it."

"No, I couldn't," Allen stated quietly.

"Yes, you could. I mean, you're obviously not dumb, you know how to take care of yourself out here, and you're..." he paused and cleared his throat, coughing slightly. "You're really not bad looking, either."

Allen looked at him again, and Lavi thought he caught a hint of something closely akin to mourning in those monochrome eyes, before they hardened again, incasing those feelings behind a wall of steel.

"You don't understand anything about me. Don't pretend as if you do."

"I don't have to understand you," Lavi pointed out. "But I understand _people_. You could find yourself a nice girl, open up a business or offer up some kind of paid service, like maybe as a bodyguard or something... your looks alone would catch people's eye, and being skilled on top of that would make you very valuable. You could probably even find work for a blue-blood family."

"I told you, that will never happen," Allen maintained stubbornly.

"And why not?"

Allen shrugged his cowl off his shoulder and let it fall aside, dislodging his left arm, but it was nothing like what Lavi expected it to be. It was a dark red like that of a charred corpse or the limb of a Flame Atronach, creased with almost scaled-looking wrinkles and far flung from what any persons arm should appear like, despite that it was still recognizable as a humanoid limb.

He was wondering how he hadn't noticed the deformity before, and then recalled that so far the boy had been only using the right arm when he was within Lavi's sight anywhere.

"I told you: life is cruel. I was born with it, and no one, not even a mother, would tolerate wanting such a hideous thing."

Sharpened silver eyes were watching Lavi with daring yet resigned expectation, almost silently demanding he say something about it, but whatever he was hoping to hear, all he got was a stare that lingered perhaps a little too long and a barely voiced, "Oh."

Allen scoffed softly and pulled the cowl back over his shoulder, tucking the arm away into hiding again and turned his back, seeming to have decided or thought that the conversation was over with that.

"Everything else about you though is still beautiful."

He thought he saw Allen go rigid, the youthful Nord glancing over his shoulder a fraction too quickly to be unaffected even if he were to attempt claiming as such. Instead all he was was silent, looking as though he was trying to decipher if he had heard correctly.

Lavi's attention wasn't nearly so lasting despite that he was normally the most alert in any group, giving in to fatigue and closing his single eye. Despite the warm clothes and blanket, it still wasn't enough to make up the different.

"Turn over."

"Hn?" Lavi glanced up, not having even heard Allen stand or walk toward him.

"I _said_, turn over," he ordered again, sounding impatiently exasperated.

"Why?"

He didn't get an answer or much choice anyway, Allen turning him on his stomach and pulling his arms behind his back again, tying them. Lavi would have groaned aloud if he'd had the energy. After having secured the older male's arms tightly, he locked the cage with both of them inside and took a seat on the floor amongst the hay, pulling Lavi against him and wrapping his thick fur cowl around both of them.

It wasn't that the redhead wasn't grateful, but...

"Why are you-"

"Because you're a dumb ass." Not the answer he expected. "And I need you _alive _if I want to get that ransom of gold."

"Oh."

Allen snorted. "Is that all you ever have to say? _'Oh'_?"

"Don't patronize me, Whitecap. I'm cold and tired."

"_Whitecap_?" Lavi glanced up in time to see Allen's brows shoot up. "What in Oblivion...?"

"Because you're short and white all over, like a White Cap mushroom."

"Yeah? And maybe you'll turn pale like a White Cap if I leave you out in the snow long enough too!" Allen barked heatedly, causing Lavi to laugh hoarsely.

"Maybe..." he hummed, coughing and snuggling into the warmth of Allen's torso and cloak. "But probably not before I turn grey like a Horker."

"Shut up before I throw you overboard and into the sea."

Lavi only smiled, but he was too exhausted to do anything but comply, letting his mind drift off into blissful nothingness.


	5. All's Fair by being Unfair

**A/N: **Well at first I was just going to make this a quick, _mostly _not very plot-heavy Laven drabble but the plot-bunnies started humping and popping out more (HAH) and now it's going to be so much more than that ~w~ Even though I already have so many other stories I really need to get done YOLO

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><p><strong>Best Laid Plans<br>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover**

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><p>And here Lavi was starting to think maybe he was making progress, up until the morning, where Allen abruptly stood and let him fall on his face with arms still bound behind his back once he no longer had the support of his human pillow and space-heater.<p>

"The heck...?"

"Morning's here and you didn't die of hypothermia so my job is done here," Allen told him crisply.

"Gee, you're so generous," Lavi muttered under his breath. The only thing that cheeky little imp did was give him a condescending smile and disappear up the stairs.

The next few days weren't nearly so comfortable. He got to freeze his ass of at night, and sit with nothing to do during the day except for contemplate how to get away. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be before he got out of this cell, since his clothing had been replaced and all his lock-picks taken along with them, even if he could manage to escape his bindings. He'd just have to bide his time for another escape.

His captor also wasn't so generous with food either. He got water, and that was about it. He didn't think Allen would starve him, after going to all the other trouble of keeping him alive, but it would definitely make him weaker. Probably the entire point, though.

After several days, Allen and a few other bandits walked below deck, peeling back the cloth, make-shift 'walls' to reveal bright, blue sky, not a cloud in sight and fresh snow from the shore perhaps only a mile ahead gleaming brightly.

They laid out wood slabs across to the other side of the hold and likewise pulled more aside, where Lavi was only now noticing for the first time that they'd stabled a good amount of horses. Imperial horses, to be exact. A few of them that Lavi recognized from his own group of escorts that had been slain days earlier. Sure, he'd heard the occasional clop of hooves or a snort, but he hadn't thought much of it, other than that the bandits might have captured one or two, or had a couple of their own.

They led them across the boards they'd laid out and past the cage cell Lavi was in, then up the stairs onto the topside deck one at a time. One thing was for sure, they definitely had more horses than bandits. He'd remember that for later, already thinking of how to use that for his advantage.

The bandits disappeared again for a while up top, but he could hear a flurry of activity, both horse hooves and human feet bustling above, packing and loading things up and securing the tack and saddle on the horses. Before long, Allen returned below deck, throwing a fold of clothes down through the bars and motioning for Lavi to come closer and spin around so he could untie his arms.

"Good to know I'm not being left behind and forgotten," the redhead laughed faintly. Allen only silently rolled his eyes and undid the ropes.

"Yeah, well... just get changed. Blizzard or no, it's going to be cold as an Ice Wraith's innards out there. I don't want you dropping dead before I can collect."

"Yeah, that would be a shame, wouldn't it?" Lavi hummed with a note of sarcasm as he started to strip, trying to go as fast as possible, because just as Allen said, clear skies or not, it was still freezing. At least the lad had been thoughtful enough to bring him some proper boots and at least half-decent clothing. It wouldn't keep the cold out entirely, the way Allen's own snow-bear fur cloak would, but it would suffice for a time, at least.

"Hey, this benefits you too," Allen pointed out sharply. "I could have just had your throat slashed and left your corpse for wild animals to scavenge, but instead you're heading back to civilization alive and in one piece. That's better than most get out here."

_Won't be better if I end up in a Stormcloak torture chamber being interrogated for information, _Lavi thought ruefully, but he held his tongue on that. Allen still didn't know who he was beyond his current Bookmen alias as 'Lavi' and he planned on keeping it that way. Even if Allen had never heard of his clan, it was wiser not to risk it.

"I guess you have a point there," Lavi pacified, shivering even as he managed to pull his new set of clothes on, trying to rub warmth back in after being exposed to the air for all of perhaps a minute or two. Allen motioned at him again to turn and tie his arms, which Lavi allowed for the moment if only to get out of this damn cell at last and stretch his legs.

Not to mention figure out where in Skyrim he was.

Satisfied with the compliance, Allen unlocked the cell once Lavi's arms were bound quite thoroughly and grabbed him by the upper arm, marching him upstairs.

Since he hadn't had the chance before, Lavi took his while to really get a good look at the surroundings that he had to work with.

The wrecked ship they were on was tilted against a large iceberg that created a roof over the top of the ship, where the main mast ended and had been snapped. The foremast too was missing its top half and sails, and the junior Bookman was only now realizing that the cloth that had been used to close the gaping holes in the ship holds was the cloth from the sails. He had been wondering how a group of vagabonds had managed to find _that _much cloth to use as a wall, to cover not only one but two sides of the ship halves.

As he glanced off to the right side, beyond half-sunken ice blocks and an ice-caked shoreline, he could make out a tall structure, like a cliff face, but too uniformed at the top to be natural. He realized it was the College of Winterhold off in the far distance. That meant they were in the far eastern side of Skyrim, on the Sea of Ghosts as he'd first thought.

To the left, all he could make out were tall ice cliffs and mountains beyond that. Probably the ones that bordered Morrowind, and an inlet that narrowed into a river. Probably the first stretch of the White River, eventually ducking under the bridge just outside of Windhelm.

They walked up the bow of the ship and onto the block of ice that had probably made the ship crash in the first place, and only now was he noticing the bandits setting off and packing up bear traps that he had been _extremely _lucky to have avoided, considering he had never even seen them during his attempted and failed escape.

They marched down to the bank where there was a boat, and Lavi noted that already most of the horses had been crossed over the narrow channel to the other side, waiting with a few of the bandits making sure none wandered off. Lavi was silent as he was shoved to sit in a small dingy and rowed across, playing the part of the 'good' prisoner, but he could still feel the tension radiating off of Allen, the white-haired male keeping his guard up in case he tried anything.

All the more reason to _not _try and escape right now. Allen's guard had to slip eventually, and that's when he'd make his move, but no sooner. Otherwise he'd only make him and the bandits twice as careful.

When they reached the shore, Allen still pulled him along close, until he'd found one horse amongst the others, a pale gold gelding with a white splash on its face that looked almost like a cross. That was the horse that Allen jumped onto, but not before giving Lavi a pointed look of warning.

"Try anything funny and I'll have you dragged by tied ankles the entire way, and you should know," he nodded ahead, in the direction Lavi assumed to be their path of travel. "Lots of sharp things hide under this snow. Best not get caught on them, especially if we might find ourselves in circumstances where horses startle and flee."

"Nope, I've learned my lesson," Lavi quipped. Allen gave him a look like he didn't believe the redhead - for good reason, too, but he didn't need to know more than his hunch told him - but didn't argue. With that, he swung up onto the saddle, taking up the lead of the band, where he could focus on making their route, and his men could watch Lavi from behind to make sure he didn't try to bolt. Which, even though he certainly _wanted _to, would be a beyond stupid choice given he was on foot and half-tied, and he really didn't want to be trampled by horses or eaten by any wild beasts today. "We ride for the Stormcloak camp just south and rendezvous with their captain their. Then we can convince them to get safe enough passage to Windhelm to make the exchange."

Lavi's heart sunk with that, but he should have known better than to hope they would bother riding to Solitude or another Legion-controlled area so far away first. Hopefully whoever they talked to in either the Stormcloak camp or Windhelm would somehow miss his worth, but he wasn't going to bet on that.

They chose the bank to follow, keeping the river to their immediate left rather than heading further inland, but that was more than fine. Frankly he didn't want to have to climb up the snowy slopes and rocks with no hands to help him anyway. When he thought about it more, it also made more sense because to their right was vertical ice cliffs, and if he went left, he'd probably drown if he attempted to swim. This way was no accident at all and Lavi was once again thinking that this Allen kid either had a good head on his shoulders or he was simply really good at picking convenient routes without realizing why they were so appealing.

Still, subconscious smarts were still smarts.

He was regret to say that their path didn't let them avoid the water entirely, if only the shallows, but the water didn't manage to soak his clothes or through his boots. They were very good boots. It didn't stop the cold from the water or the outside air freezing it onto the surface from seeping through to make his feet and legs cold though, and he was simply hoping that he wasn't going to get frostbite. They crossed the path of a snow bear, but even it wasn't daring enough to go after an entire troupe of horses and men, and instead slipped away through the water to one of the small islands of soil across the channel.

Around mid-day, Windhelm's great wall came into view and the rising cliffs to their right became gentle slopes, which was where they turned as the faint scent of smoke tinged the otherwise frosty air, and a grey plume came into view not long after. The climb up the hill was unpleasant for Lavi, but easy for the men on horseback, and he was glad to stop once they finally found the camp they were searching for amongst old, half-buried Nordic pillars of stone, where several soldiers immediately confronted them with weapons drawn.

"That's far enough!"

Allen looked entirely unconcerned and held his hands up away from the reins and his weapons in a show of peace as his horse sidled uncertainly.

"We're not here to raid," he spoke smoothly, relaxing his demeanor outwardly, though Lavi could still detect a prepared tension in his posture. "We want to make an exchange, in the city."

"What kind of exchange?" the soldier demanded warily.

"This man-" Allen nodded over his shoulder to Lavi. "We caught him and a band of Legion soldiers on the march east, through the Pale and Winterhold. I figure he must be someone important, to be guarded and taken along such a sneaky route."

Lavi inwardly sighed as he watched the man weigh that in his mind, before briefly turning and motioning with his head to another soldier.

"Go find the Captain. We'll see what he thinks of all this."

Allen swung down from the saddle of his horse, and Lavi watched a disarming smile - a perfect mask of innocence and good-will - blossom across his face, flawlessly erasing any hard features and foul attitude.

"Excuse me, but is it alright if we tie our horses and make ourselves comfortable around the fire? It's very cold."

The soldier hummed uncomfortably. "I don't know..."

"We won't be any trouble," Allen assured, tilting his head, fully playing upon his good looks to appear cute. "We'll even leave our weapons on the horses, so you can rest easy knowing that we won't spring an attack. Please?"

Akatosh above, the kid had some manners after all!

_Or at least when it suits him._

"And they'll behave themselves too, won't you, boys?" Allen added when the man still appeared unconvinced, receiving a small chorus of confirmation from the bandits behind him. He gave the soldiers another smile, even batting his eyes for good measure. "We'll be on our best behavior."

"We-ll... al-right..." the Stormcloak finally relented, seeming entirely at a loss of how to respond, much less refuse. Lavi was having a hard time believing it too. Bandits weren't known for being well-mannered and _nice_.

Allen nodded his appreciation, continuing to smile as he and the others tied up their horses to trees and posts just outside the camp. Lavi went to follow them to the fire too, relieved at the prospect of warming himself up, but Allen grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back before he could, sweeping a foot behind his ankle and making the redhead fall onto his ass.

"The fuck?" Lavi yelped as Allen knelt down, tying him to the base of one of the posts.

"Not you. You get to stay here, while we make our... _arrangements._"

"This isn't fair!"

"You're a captive," Allen pointed out, not dignifying him with a glance until he'd thoroughly secured Lavi to the post, then giving him another intelligence-belittling glare. "And this is war. Everything's fair."

"No, it isn't," Lavi felt the need to argue. "War is everything _but _fair."

"Exactly," Allen quipped, standing up and looking far too satisfied with himself. "Everything in war is unfair, therefore it's fair, because everything is the same."

Oh, how he'd love to debate that point, but part of him also lamented to admit that he still agreed to some level. To say that everything in war was fair because it was unfair to everyone, however, was a bit misleading. There were different levels of unfairness, so no, it wasn't a level playing field.

He didn't get the chance to form a proper rebuttal though, because Allen walked off to make himself cozy by the fire, while he was left to sit in the snow now _literally _freezing his ass off.

"I hate that guy," Lavi muttered, leaning his back against the wood and scowling, all the while also watching the fire longingly. "I really do."

But at least he was alone now, and wood and rope... that was something that he could work with. Let Allen have his cozy spot by the fire. Unbeknownst to his ballsy ass of a captor, Lavi had fire of his own, and it would be far more useful than simply making him warm.


	6. Desperate Measures

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

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><p>Perhaps Allen thought he was easily kept put, tied to a post, sitting on the ground, with no way to escape without drawing attention with flailing and struggling, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, the man had relieved him of his lock-picks. They'd taken away his war-hammer when they captured him, sure. They couldn't relieve him of his spells, though. The ones the redhead had deliberately decided not to reveal he knew how to cast.<p>

He huffed and stared at the group from afar as they milled around the fire, the captain of this Stormcloak camp - a large, burly man - and the bandits, especially Allen, talking and discussing the redhead's very own future. Occasionally Allen would glance his way, just to be sure his captive stayed put, but Lavi only scowled at him unhappily. All the while, behind his back, he twisted his arms experimentally, trying to work his way loose. Allen had certainly done a thorough job of tying him.

Once he managed to get one of the coils in his palm, he poured magicka into fueling a small, steady flame. The horses tied to the same post sidled nervously, but didn't move much other than that. He wasn't sure how long they would be discussing, but he knew he had to be both fast and patient, focusing his fire on eating away at the rope, which was as uncomfortable as it was a relief.

He could smell the charred edges of burning rope faintly, but ignored it. At least, if nothing else, his hands weren't freezing.

Finally he felt the ropes on his wrists loosen and silently declared victory under his breath, keeping his arms as if they were behind his back but undoing the bindings. He had to be careful. He couldn't just spring up immediately and go. He needed to do this with great care if he expected to make it out alive and in one piece. Running might get him killed by his captors. On the other hand, they might keep him alive, but then he might face torture of some sort for it.

_Well, look on the bright side. At least the one most likely to put you through torture for fleeing is very good looking._

Somehow that was less comforting than he'd hoped it would be.

His eye wandered up the forms of the horses, and he was suddenly very much glad for Allen's earlier words about them leaving their weapons on their horses as a sheathed sword hung off one saddle. His gaze flicking back to the fire, he saw that no one was paying him much mind at the moment and pushed himself up onto half-numb legs, having a little more trouble with it than he would have liked, but it didn't matter.

He pulled the sword from the sheath hanging off one saddle, just in time to hear a shout of alarm from over by the fire. No surprise, the one to notice him first was Allen.

He didn't even humor the shout with a response, running around the post and cutting several sets of reins with one long sweep of the blade, then summoned fire in his palm, sweeping it in front of the horses faces without touching them. The animals brayed in panic and immediately reacted, rearing or bolting back through the camp, forcing Allen to dodge them.

Lavi wasted no time in cutting the other horses free, scaring them with the fire and letting them startle into a frenzy of panic and sow chaos amongst the group of both soldiers and bandits.

Satisfied that he'd created a sufficient stir and given everyone there plenty enough to distract them, with trying to keep from getting trampled and catch the horses before they could get too far, he spun around and sprinted, as fast as one could at least, especially heading up-hill through dense snow.

He clamored up some rocks further up and then onto a path that went between two sides of stone that created a shallow ravine, which continued straight for a ways, dipping down and then back up again, with no alternate route. When it did open back up again, it was with such steep hills that they weren't worth climbing, save for heading the same direction as he was already going.

Clouds were already blowing in over the sky again, despite that it had been clear most of the day, and snow began to sprinkle down ominously. That wasn't good, but it would be better than ending up in a Stormcloak prison and tortured, and if it snowed heavily enough it would cover his tracks so the bandits and soldiers couldn't come after him again. Not easily at any rate.

The cold burned his lungs as his path headed tediously uphill and he had to slow his pace somewhat, trees becoming a little more abundant, rather than only cliffs surrounding him. Despite that it was only mid-day, it was already getting dark, and he'd lost the sun, squinting at the sky and trying to get an idea of where he needed to go as he trudged along. On the plus side, he could make a fire in his hands as he walked to keep from _completely _freezing.

"If I could just find Winterhold or some place that isn't inhabited by hostiles, I could rest and plan where to go from there," he mused aloud, his breath creating plumes of white that spiraled around his face. As if there wasn't already enough white in these damn frozen barrens.

He almost wanted to scream triumph when he found the stone path that made the main road. It was nice to have _some _good luck for a change!

The only thing in question was which way to follow it.

_Does it really even matter? Either way, it eventually leads to civilization!_

He decided to follow it right, picking up his pace now that he now longer had to struggle with deep snow piles and cliffs. Before long he could see the Sea of Ghosts faintly in the distance, though it was quickly becoming obscured by more heavily falling snow, and was confident he would find a warm place to take shelter before the night was fully upon him so long as he hurried his ass along.

Unfortunately it wasn't to be because, just a short while after he passed a natural cave on his right side and turned the bend, he was leapt upon from a white-clad figure hiding in the shadow of a tree that yanked him aside and threw him off a ledge of stone and into the snow below, sending him tumbling several yards down the hill.

_Of all the-!_

Of _course _that short, two-faced little bandit bastard had managed to not only catch up with him, he somehow managed to get _ahead _of him!

He heard the snow crunch as the lad leapt down after him and plowed through the snow, Lavi spitting out a mouthful of ice as he stood and prepared himself for a proper fight this time.

"Damn you, you're annoying!" He conjured a fireball in palm and sent it flying, but Allen threw himself to the side to avoid it, scaling up onto a rock with surprising ease and flinging himself forward and bowling them over through the snow.

"I could say the same thing!" Allen spat angrily, managing to pin Lavi's back against the ground, but the redhead kneed him hard in the side and pushed the younger man off of him, springing to his feet. He cast a mournful glance to the side, able to still make out the silhouette of the College, but it was _so far _off. Painfully close, but yet still so far away. Too far for anyone to hear them fighting and come to help him.

He turned his attention back as Allen recovered quickly, throwing a punch at him that he dodged, but underneath the snow, a foot knocked under his heel and sent him teetering back, landing with an _oomph!_

Allen raised his leg and tried to bring his heel down on Lavi's stomach, but the redhead caught his leg and rolled, throwing Allen off balance now and sending them tumbling again through the frost. At some point during their rolling, Allen still managed to punch him hard in the small of his back, making the redhead wince, and Lavi managed to hit him up-close with a fireball into the other's shoulder, earning a cry of pain.

When they stopped rolling, both sprung apart, Allen momentarily reeling in the snow from his burn. Lavi used that moment to leap to his feet and run, not really caring at this point where he ended up, just so long as he lost the bandit. Then he could worry about making it to Winterhold where he would have far less troubles to worry about.

He leapt over a fallen log in the snow and plowed through a hill of snow strenuously, then down a hill at a slight diagonal angle. He was still heading in the direction of the College and Winterhold, only towards the space underneath the stone arch bridge that connected the two, so he wouldn't be far from it and would still manage to reach even with Allen tailing him. He jumped onto a rock, leaping off its other size, and towards an old Nordic pillar of stone.

Allen leapt onto his back again as he was leaping over another large snow pile and set his landing off, which was already a precarious enough place to jump, a sudden dip in the slope that was far too steep. He teetered to the side sharply as he landed, pain spiking through his ankle that ripped a hurt cry out of him as he tumbled. A sharp pain like several small blades ripped through his right shoulder as they rolled over, each fighting to come out on top and rolling off the edge of a short ice cliff, hitting the ground a few feet down. He hissed and screwed his eye tight as they landed, trying to breathe through the pain.

In the end, Lavi managed to pin Allen down, holding down each of the boy's wrists and glancing at his own shoulder, which had been shredded by several slashes as if a bear or a troll had taken a swipe at it a moment before and was bleeding profusely.

"What the fuck?" he panted, his single eye traveling down now that he had Allen pinned and struggling, and upon closer examination of Allen's left deformed hand, he realized something. "Claws? You have fucking _claws_?" It wasn't just long nails, either. These were _literal_ talons, like those on a big cat or some bird of prey.

"Let me go!" Allen spat, writhing and twisting viciously to escape, his face twisted into an almost bestial snarl and his eyes gleaming with a feral light.

"Oh, yeah, I'm _really _going to comply with _that _demand," Lavi rebuked with no shy amount of sarcasm, rolling his single eye. If anything, he only tightened his hold, not wanting to be raked with those jagged nails again.

"Do you even realize how much trouble you caused?" Allen spat, trying in vain to overpower the other to push him off. "You should have just stayed put!"

"Why?" Lavi demanded. "So you can sell me out to the Stormcloaks for some temporary coin to fill your pockets?"

"You said it yourself. Why would the Stormcloaks have any interest in you?" Allen shot back.

"You don't believe that," Lavi pointed out. And things would have really gone south for him if he'd let their negotiations go far enough. "And more importantly, you don't _care_. If I get turned over and tortured, it's no skin off your back, after all, so long as you get your coin."

"And?" Allen growled. "It's not as if it's anything personal. Even bandits need money to survive and eat. You're the dumb ass who went traipsing through such a dangerous place."

"Okay, _first _off, stop calling me an idiot. I know that was a fucking stupid route to take, but it wasn't my call to make _or _dispute," Lavi snapped, his own temper not doing so well between having been forced on this damn suicide mission in the first place, then being captured by this smart-mouthed punk and kept prisoner for days, freezing his ass off most of those days, and now having a wounded shoulder and ankle to worry about. "And second, you're a really arrogant sob if you think I'm under any kind of obligation to play 'good prisoner' disregarding my own needs and safety because Divines forbid you couldn't find another way to make some gold!"

Allen _tch_ed and narrowed his eyes.

"Fine. I've learned my lesson from now on. I'll just kill everyone I find instead of offer them even a shred of mercy from now on like every other rogue in these lands," he hissed half-sarcastically.

"Mercy?" Lavi's brows went up. "You call that _mercy_? Selling someone out to be tortured by someone else before they're killed?"

"You know your way around a lock-pick, don't you?" Allen retorted, rolling his eyes.

"You took my lock-picks, remember?"

"And I would have given them back," Allen returned quickly. "I'm a survivalist, not _heartless_. I still give people a way out."

Lavi huffed frustration and shook his head. "Except that they'd _check _for that sort of thing."

They both paused as Lavi thought he heard something, and he felt Allen stiffen under him, perking up and listening like a dog suddenly on alert. The noise came again, calling out. A third time and he recognized a name in there, distant but coming closer.

"Allen?!"

"Over here!"

"Damn it!" Lavi hissed. "Shut up!"

"Why?" Allen gave him a heated glare. "You have no obligation to play _good boy_, and neither do I! _We're over here!_"

"Oh for Arkay's sake! Haven't you caused me enough trouble?! Be quiet, damn you!"

"You've caused me a lot more trouble then I caused you with that stunt you pulled back at that Stormcloak camp, I can guarantee you that!" Allen returned heatedly, before taking another deep breath to shout. "Hey! This way! Over he-_Mmpff_?!"

It wasn't Lavi's first choice of silencing tactics, but fuck, at least it _worked_. Allen squealed protest from beneath the kiss and struggled more fiercely than ever, making the redhead's task of keeping his wrists pinned increasingly difficult, but unfortunately he didn't have the option of kicking the man either since his thighs were straddling Lavi's hips, flailing his legs helplessly. He bit Lavi's lip hard, and it _almost _succeeded in getting him to release the kiss, if not for the sound of hooves on the ice ledge above and voices.

"See anything?"

"No. Doesn't look like anyone's come this way."

Allen's eyes shifted up, then went back to glaring straight at Lavi.

"You sure about that? With how he dresses, damn guy could be right in front of you and you wouldn't see him."

"Nah, I don't think he's here. Otherwise he would have at least answered or something."

"Yeah, 'probably right."

Allen kneed Lavi hard in the ribs, smug by the wince it garnered. Lavi gave him a glare now, but didn't give back the freedom to talk, having to breathe hard through his nose to get adequate oxygen.

"Damn. He should have waited for us instead of charging off on his own." The voices started to move away with the sound of horses trotting through the snow again.

"Can't be helped. We'll check further east and see if he's there. Maybe he's even caught that red-haired guy again."

"Heh, I'd hate to be him."

Only a bit after the voices receded did Lavi finally break the kiss, gasping for breath by then and both too light-headed to speak for several long moments. When they'd finally recovered enough to do so, it was Allen who broke the silence first, kneeing him in the side again with the same knee, looking disgusted.

"You lecherous son of a bitch! I really _should _kill you for that!"

"Believe me, I didn't want to," Lavi growled back, his lips still buzzing with warmth that left him mentally kicking himself more than it brought any sense of enjoyment. "But I'd really prefer to _not _end up in some torture device in Windhelm thanks to your _oh so generous _offer."

"Whatever," Allen grunted. "Just get the fuck off me."

"No."

Allen's eyebrows rose. "What was that?"

"Not until I know you aren't going to drag me back with you and sell me out."

"I can't do that."

"Yes, you can."

"_No_, I really can't!" Allen snarled, his eyes flashing. "You still don't understand what sort of chaos you made back there, do you? You made it appear as if that was some plan of ours all along to jump the Stormcloaks and raid them! If I show up empty-handed and don't hand you over, they're going to kill us! Those of our group that they haven't already at least!"

"I don't care," Lavi stated outright. "Between my life or theirs, I'll choose mine. No contest."

Allen visibly grit his teeth. "So you don't care if a bunch of people die because of you?"

"Hey, don't pin this on me!" Lavi shot back, bristling. "This was all your wise idea. It's not exactly as if I volunteered for this! Don't act as if you're somehow just the innocent victim! If you didn't want to risk people getting killed, then maybe you shouldn't have tried doing things this way in the first place!"

"Well what's done is done," Allen spat, voice becoming noticeably lower. "I can't exactly change that now, can I? Either way, someone is likely to die."

"Well I'm not going back," Lavi told him in finality. "And thanks to you, I might not be able to walk on my own. I hurt my ankle when you jumped me that last time and it might even be broken, and where I need to be is a long way off. So you can either agree to help me to civilization, that _isn't _Windhelm, or I could just not let you up and we can both just lay here until one or both of us freezes to death. Your choice."

"I'm not going to just let you go," Allen stated.

"Then I guess we're both just going to freeze to death," Lavi returned, silently cursing this damn brat's insufferable stubbornness.


	7. Compromise

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Maybe offering an <em>'Or we can both just lie here and freeze to death' <em>option was not the wisest choice Lavi had made in the last several days. He was quickly learning that Allen was a person who was _very _good at making things difficult when they didn't need to be.

Had the guy never even heard of a placation? Perhaps not since he was stubborn enough to let them both sit out in the arctic air instead of compose one, even though Lavi was sure he was smart enough that he very well _could _if he wanted to.

The redhead was also learning that he really detested the cold when he didn't have a hand free to conjure up some fire, because even their shared body heat wasn't really enough to combat the chill as the snow continued to fall with increasing volume and started to bury them. He'd tried making the same proposal more than twice, but Allen had refused both times, busying himself now with glaring at his obscure reflection in the ice wall alongside and over them.

"Still going to be stubborn?" Lavi questioned, not for the first and neither probably the last time.

"Piss off."

Lavi sighed, resting his head to gaze the opposite way. At this rate, they really _would _freeze to death. It was turning into a game of Chicken, but if they waited too long, neither one was going to be able to move away from disaster. There were no sounds of either man or beast, only the northern wind drowning out their soft breaths, but that wasn't necessarily going to last, and it was a gamble which would be worse. People finding them might be deadly. Beasts finding them would almost _definitely _be deadly. Either one was assuming the cold itself didn't claim their lives.

Finally, Lavi had had enough.

"To Oblivion with this," he huffed, wriggling to sit up. Allen watched him move, but didn't do so himself yet, waiting for the redhead to regain his bearings first. Lavi tried to stand, but it was nearly impossible, a lightning strike of pain traveling up his leg from his ankle. He grit his jaw tightly to keep from crying out, breathing hard, but managed to stagger up onto one leg, using the wall as a support. Allen stood now while he twisted around to grab the limb, feeling it carefully with a hiss under his breath.

He didn't think it was outright broken, but he might have fractured it. Of not that, it was sprained beyond doubt.

"_Nine Divines_, this is just fucking perfect," he swore bitterly. He definitely wasn't going to be doing any running away now. The only plus side was that the cold had numbed it somewhat, but with the risk of frostbite, that was a double-edged sword that would quickly make him feel the opposite blade if he wasn't careful.

"Looks like you won't be going anywhere anytime too fast," Allen noted redundantly.

"I'm still not going back with you," Lavi retorted. He saw Allen raise a brow as if to mock that statement, but said nothing, Lavi glancing upward. "By the looks of that sky, you're not going much of anywhere either, unless you really want to drop dead. This storm isn't getting any better."

Allen merely shrugged nonchalance. "Welcome to the far north."

"Okay, look," Lavi began, deciding it best not to turn this into an argument and instead offering up a temporary truce, even if it was out of pure necessity. "Maybe you can make it through this storm as it is right now, but like you said, I'm not going anywhere quickly, and I certainly can't climb back up there," he directed up the ice ledge. "So you have one of two options. Either leave me here and go back to where you came from, or we find shelter to camp in for the time being." _And hope we both last the night._

"Except that there _is _nowhere we can take shelter."

"Don't be an idiot, there has to be _somewhere_."

"Just because it exists doesn't mean we can use it," Allen retorted. "The nearest cave is a hive of frost trolls, and the nearest wrecked ship is across water. Assuming you could even swim with that leg, we'd die of hypothermia or go numb an drown."

Lavi sighed and massaged his temple. "Okay, okay... then..." He paused to think of where else they could go. "If we can make it back up the slope, there's a mine just outside of Winterhold. It's closer than the city itself, and they'll have a furnace for melting ore. It'll be warm."

"I'm not going anywhere near that place," Allen stated stubbornly.

"And why not?"

"It's not just a mine, it's guarded by the Stormcloaks, and in case you've forgotten, I'm a bandit. They'll kill us on sight."

"Except you don't look like a bandit," Lavi noted, eyeing him up and down.

"Word gets around," Allen returned with subdued impatience. "They'll figure it out eventually." Before Lavi could get another word in, he added, "That goes for Winterhold too. I'm not going near it."

Lavi growled frustration. Why, of all the people, did he have to get stuck with _this _person? Any other bandit, hardened or not, would have folded by now and agreed to find some place warm and safe from the elements, fear of being recognized as a bandit be damned. Unfortunately Lavi didn't have the option of just ditching him and going on his own merry way with the way his leg was feeling. If there wasn't snow piled everywhere, potentially different story, but it was hard enough trudging through it with two perfectly working legs.

He was going to have to think of something else, before they both ended up freezing where they stood, the redhead shivering at this point.

"Fine, just let me think a moment," he huffed, squinting his eye through the snow. He could hardly see a damned thing. The clouds in the sky melted with the horizon, with no discernible line between them through the wall of snowflakes falling. The wind whipped as much of it off the ground as the clouds dropped from above, making it nearly impossible to see. He could vaguely make out the shape of two ice cliffs making up a passage ahead when the blowing snow momentarily thinned, but that was about it. Barely audible was the sound of creaking ice of the ravines between them.

Lavi couldn't help but shiver more violently, cold seeping into every corner it could find and making the wound on his shoulder bite painfully. He instinctively summoned a lick of fire into his palm to try and stay a little warmer when an idea occurred to him.

"We'll just have to make our own shelter," he chattered, watching Allen's brows rise slightly.

"With what? There's nothing out here except snow and ice."

"Yeah, and the ice out here form their own small mountains. Ice melts relatively easily." He swiveled around, eyeballing the wall of ice behind them. It wasn't the largest, but it would do without them having to go anywhere at all, and personally he'd rather not get lost in the snow. "I can melt us a small cave. It's not much, but its gotta be better than nothing."

Allen seemed to be weighing the idea, before he nodded.

"Alright."

_At least not EVERYTHING I have to say is disagreeable to him,_ Lavi thought in relief. He blasted the base of the ice and snow with flames until it hit soil and kept going. He made sure the entrance was only small enough for them to squeeze into it and made it larger on the inside, just enough that they could fit inside comfortably. The snow would probably cover the entrance again while they were inside, but that would only help to keep the wind out. Plus, if anyone came looking that Lavi didn't want finding them, no one would ever suspect where they were.

Having done what he deemed an adequate enough job, Lavi sat down with a sigh and kept a fire going in one palm. The closed space would do fine to keep them warm so long as he kept his flame going long enough to heat the inside.

"This should at least keep us alive long enough for the storm to pass. We can figure out what to do from there once it does," the redhead decided, earning a mute nod from Allen as the young man sat across from him, blowing out a sigh of his own. They fell silent for a while, with the only sound being the muffled wind outside and the flicker of Lavi's fire.

Once he was feeling a little better, the redhead leaned forward to get a proper look at his ankle, having to use one hand to slip off the one boot and feel the joint with tentative fingers. He was aware of Allen's eyes on him as he did so.

"I think it's just a bad sprain," Lavi hummed aloud. "A few days staying off it should put it right again." _Thank the Powers That Be. _If this storm lasted long enough, it might even be healed just in time that he could make another bid for freedom.

"Hm," Allen hummed uncaringly, shimmying to make himself more comfortable, leaning his back against the wall and not noticing the cold through his furred cloak. Lavi wished he could say the same, but he was sorely lacking in anything thick enough not to feel it, sitting forward instead.

This was going to be one long night.


	8. New Deal

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>A long night indeed. And another. And another morning creeping towards mid-day before the snow finally stopped entirely.<p>

It was enough to make even the most patient person feel stiflingly claustrophobic, and having nothing to do except talk to someone who was adamant to make it clear he had no interest of being anything even _remotely _close to friends was the absolute worst for an active mind like his. He would have at least liked to have a book on hand to read, even if he had to read the same damn thing six times over, just to have something to do, other than keep his flame going and only let it die out when he was too tired and his Magicka was drained and needed to replenish.

It was a great relief just to step outside, other than the few times they needed to do their own private business in probably the only damn environment no right-minded person would want to drop drawer just for the sheer possibility of certain anatomical details freezing off.

Even better, Lavi's ankle was feeling a lot better. Not completely healed, but he could put a very slight amount of weight on it, even if he did have to hobble quite a bit clumsily to accomplish it.

"Clear skies at last!" he laughed, stretching his arms skyward. Allen's enthusiasm was less pronounced, but still present. It vanished though as Lavi began to walk, headed slightly downhill to where he could see now that there was a break in the ice, making a gentle upward slope.

"Where are you going?"

"Where does it look like?" Lavi shot back over his shoulder. "The College and Winterhold is this way."

"I told you I'm not going there!"

"Then don't," Lavi replied simply. "You're free to go whichever way you want to."

Allen audibly growled and jogged to catch up, grabbing him by his uninjured shoulder and spinning the redhead around to face him.

"You're not going free! I still need you for-"

"For what?" Lavi interrupted. "Any of your buddies that they plan on killing are already dead. If they have any that aren't, then they'll probably be in a Stormcloak prison in Windhelm by the time we reach there. The rest are probably just fine on their own, back in some camp they have set up far away from any soldiers, and I still have no plans of being just some bag of coins to anyone, least of all to some foul-tempered brat like you with an entitlement complex." He shrugged Allen's hand off his shoulder, huffing irritably. "Follow me or don't, I really couldn't care less, but I'm going to Winterhold whether you like it or not while I still have the strength, where there'll be warmth I don't have to provide myself and food to eat." Especially not after having not eaten in three freaking days!

It was at that same moment that Allen's stomach let out a guttural growl and he watched with no small shred of amusement as a blush rose to color Allen's pale face. Obviously he wasn't the only one who was hungry, and with good reason.

"Then that settles it," Lavi declared, before Allen could say anything, though there was nothing stopping him from casting Lavi a dirty glare. "Winterhold it is!"

"I didn't agree to this!" Allen snapped as the redhead turned to limp up the hill.

"And I didn't agree to play prisoner, so shove it."

"And how exactly do you plan to pay for food? I took all of your gold as well as your lock-picks, remember, and I'm not paying anyone to feed you."

"I'll figure something out." Lavi shrugged. "A helping hand is usually more welcomed than coin in someplace so far flung from the rest of society anyway."

It was true. People in such a rural settlement so far north would rather someone else go out into the cold to chop wood for the fire or work the labor jobs than have to do it themselves, and would happily pay in a night of food and a temporary roof for the service. Gold was a pretty damn useless currency when there was hardly any sufficient way to use it anyway, other than just enough to pay their land taxes, which weren't very high considering hardly anyone wanted to live there.

Most of the rest of the walk was silent, and Lavi was actually somewhat surprised that Allen followed him despite previously being so vehement. The path was sloped, but mostly only by a slight degree, and they stuck close to the ice walls on the far side so as not to step onto a snow pile only to find there was nothing below it and fall to either of their deaths. At one point the path turned steep so that they almost just had to slide down it, rather than walk, though that was no more pleasant.

The sea was close, blowing the smell of frost and salt, but they turned away from it at the bottom of the hill and kept trudging west, which became rocky with chunks of ice and small boulders, making it more difficult to navigate the landscape properly than Lavi would have liked with his healing ankle, but he managed without having to sink to asking for help.

Allen suddenly held up a hand for him to stop at one point as he spotted a snow sabre ahead of them before they managed to alert it to their presence, and they were forced to turn and crawl their way up a steeper slope than either of them wanted to deal with to avoid the large feline. As they headed uphill, a triangular stone structure came into view between two peaks ahead, and they headed to the right once the hill was no longer enclosed on either side by ledges of ice, startling a wild goat out of hiding and watching as it bounced away over the hills.

Finally they found the main road again and headed straight and easily towards Winterhold. Lavi couldn't be happier to be walking on level ground again, his ankle burning once more with pain and trying not to let his limp be too immediately obvious. Despite being so much closer now, it was still a full hours walk before they saw the Hold, and before they reached it, Allen stopped and broke right.

"What are you doing?"

"You go ahead," Allen told him. "Just wait for me right outside the inn, before the steps. I'll swing around the side of it as soon as you motion that it's clear."

Lavi only blinked, but then shrugged. It seemed a bit paranoid, but as Allen had said, he was a bandit, and when he really thought about it, the young man seemed intimately familiar with his trade. The kind of familiarity that only came with repetition and experience. The redhead was guessing that maybe he had a bounty. That was why he was so skittish about it, but then why would he risk going to Windhelm just for a bit of gold if he was that worried about being recognized as an outlaw?

That rose some interesting questions. He doubted he would get an easy answer to them though. Instead he merely nodded. What did it matter, anyway? Let Allen keep his paranoia and suspicions. The redhead just wanted to get his ass back to Solitude.

"Whatever you say," Lavi shrugged, watching Allen duck under the branch of a tree and disappear. He headed to the inn and looked for Allen, but didn't see him. None the less, he glanced around to see if there were any guards about, and when he saw none, he motioned the young man to come inside with him. Inside was also empty for all but the innkeeper themselves. That worked out just fine for both of them though.

Lavi managed to negotiate his way into a meal through some chopped wood and cooking enough for more than himself, glad to be somewhere warm and have food in his stomach. Allen had his own coin, so he didn't have to go to the same trouble, but just as he'd said, his coin was only going towards himself. That was fine enough, because the redhead also had the advantage that the white-haired man wouldn't be able to haul him off by force without making a scene, which, for one reason or another, was the last thing the younger male wanted to create.

When Lavi was finally done with his work, his ankle still ailing him, especially when it came to having to deal with the stairs of the inn's cellar, he found a seat next to the other man in the darkened corner, where Allen was doing a fine job looking the part of an old man crumpled over a tankard where no one would pay him much mind, including the guards that occasionally came inside for some warmth and food.

"Going to sit here and mope all night?" Lavi teased, setting a plate of food down for himself and feeling starved, even though he'd actually managed a light lunch earlier before working.

"I'm not moping," Allen stated matter-of-factly. Technically it was true. He was more hiding than anything, probably for fear someone might recognize him. With his face turned, he could easily pass for an old person, with his hair being so white. If anyone realized he was in fact only a teenager, he was hard to miss and forget. "I hope you know that our _business _isn't done."

"And I hope you know I'm still not going back with you," Lavi returned. Stubbornness seemed too weak a word to describe Allen's unwillingness to admit defeat. "Y'know considering that I haven't tried to completely toast you and even helped you out, you sure do have a bad attitude towards me. What gives? I know you're not beyond being nice."

"I have been being nice," Allen defended. "You're my captive, not my _friend_."

"Not so captive anymore, now am I?" Lavi pointed out, taking a swig of cider. What he'd really like was some wine, but he needed to keep a sharp mind around Allen, so he was just going to have to deal without. At least he was genuinely warm. "If I really had a vindictive streak in me, I could have sicced the guards on you when we got here, but I didn't."

"And why didn't you?" Allen turned his head, brow arched in question.

"Because-" Lavi sighed. "I figure maybe you could be useful to me, too. I need to get to Solitude, and that's a long ways off."

"No."

"You didn't even let me finish," Lavi pointed out.

"I don't care. I'm not going there. Like you said, it's a long ways off, and not worth the effort."

"Then I'll make if worth your effort," Lavi stated, swiveling in his seat to face the man now. "Look, I don't want to go to Windhelm and be sold off to the Stormcloaks, and you don't want to walk away from this... _business _of ours empty-handed. If you can help me get back to Solitude, then I can reward you for it. I can pay you - a _lot_. You get your money, I keep my freedom, everyone wins."

"My men are-"

"Your men are probably fine." The ones that survived whatever had gone down back at the Stormcloak camp anyway. "And they'll probably be just fine without you for a week or two. Their kind are as hardy as cockroaches. You can try to squash them but they'll probably manage one way or another regardless."

Allen looked like he wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult, but he had said himself that he was a survivalist, and cockroaches were notorious survivors despite intense efforts to wipe them out. Finally the white-haired male huffed.

"I don't want to go into the city."

"Because you have a bounty?" Lavi guessed quietly. Allen pursed his lips. That was probably a 'yes'. "Okay, look, that's an easy enough thing to work around. You get me to just outside the city, and I'll arrange for the gold and rendezvous outside afterwards. If anyone asks, I'll just say it was a mercenary that came along and saved me from a bandit attack or something. You won't have to show your face inside Solitude."

He could see Allen weighing his options in his head.

"Five-thousand," he said, finally.

"What?"

"I want five-thousand gold for this job. Otherwise, no-deal."

Lavi sighed, long and low. "Dunno if I'm worth _that_ much," he admitted ruefully. He certainly doubted it after the General had sent him off on such a risky route. "...but I'm sure I can figure out how to arrange it somehow."

"Good." Allen smiled satisfaction, looking far too sweet in that moment. "And if you don't keep your end, then city walls or no, I'll make you wish a pack of snow bears had gotten you first."


	9. Braving the Storm

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Allen wanted to leave in the night, which wasn't the most ideal set-up that Lavi could think of, but at the very least, it seemed as if Allen was willing to cooperate with him. At least he hoped as much, but the possibility that the whitette was merely trying to lure him away from the city was one that crossed his mind as well. Hopefully the younger male was a man of his word.<p>

They headed out around the side of the inn, past ruined houses and ice-caked trees as the wind howled loudly, the snow having returned.

Lavi was not looking forward to their travel. He even considered suggesting they stay until the snow passed again, but before he could, Allen stepped precariously out onto an ice cliff and raised his fingers to his lips, whistled shrilly toward the sea, the sound carrying even through the harsh gusts that swept up the hill.

"Hey! What're you doing?" He grabbed Allen's shoulder and spun him around, single eye accusing.

"Calling my horse," Allen stated, rolling his eyes as Lavi blinked. He'd thought maybe the young man was signaling to his fellow bandits. Perhaps not. Perhaps he was and that was just his excuse to get away with it until they were found though, too. Allen shook the hand off and whistled again, long and loud into the night. After the third whistle, Lavi faintly thought he heard the sound of a horse whickering in reply, squinting, but he could see nothing.

Allen continued to whistle though, and a pale gold horse came up alongside them from down the hill, nearly invisible in the driving snow. Allen's face brightened as the animal threw its nose against him and he reached up to pet it between the eyes.

"I'm glad to see you again too, Tim."

"Tim?" Lavi's brow raised slightly. "You named your horse Tim?" Okay, so sure, he'd heard some much more ridiculous or odd names given to horses, but it just seemed odd to him.

"Short for Timcanpy," Allen clarified, before shrugging and adding in his own defense, "I didn't name him. He was my Master's horse before he was mine."

"Your master?" He also noted the 'was' in there, so he guessed that to be _former_ master. "I didn't know you ever had one."

"I did," Allen sighed, looking particularly unpleasant for a flicker of a second. "But he sort of has this habit of disappearing for long stretches of time and I have no bloody fucking clue where he is now." He turned his attention back to Timcanpy, stroking the equines muzzle fondly. Lavi noted that the horse was a bit on the small side as well. "At least he left me with Tim before he went running off again though. Anyway, your ankle is still hurt, right?" he said, quickly changing subjects. "I'm sure Tim wouldn't mind carrying you for a day or two."

That was... nice of him. Maybe they were making progress after all, even if it was because Allen probably just wanted to get this done as fast as possible, and the redhead's ankle would slow them down otherwise.

"I wouldn't mind that either," Lavi hummed.

After he was saddled, they began to head downhill towards the sea, passing underneath a small doorway arch in the bridge that led up to the College of Winterhold and further downhill going west after that. Allen didn't ride with him, instead walking and leading Timcanpy by the reigns. The night was painted grey by the blinding snow blown sideways off the cliff side and falling from the sky, making them squint and Lavi regret leaving the warmth of the inn not long after Winterhold was behind them, and being on horseback, making a fire for himself was a bad idea.

They followed the coast for a while and stayed to the far side of the bank, away from foaming waves that pushed large slabs of ice inland. A few horkers bellowed their displeasure at being disturbed, but Allen ignored them and both he and horse outpaced the lumbering beasts of blubber without having to pick up the pace much at all.

Rising walls of ice and cliffs parted into a ravine path heading uphill away from the shore now and it was all Lavi could do just to huddle over the saddle and shiver. Riding horseback was probably a true mercy on his ankle but a bane on everything else. His circulation wasn't going strong enough to keep him at least semi-warm because he wasn't moving enough, and suddenly Lavi was wondering if the offer for Timcanpy to carry him wasn't quite so charitable after all, when he would be hard-pressed even to force his limbs to move. Allen, while undeniably cold trudging through the snow, was at least keeping his body moving and not suffering the effects quite so much.

As they left the sea behind them, he couldn't make any sense of direction, especially not being so damn cold and tired as he was. For all he knew, they could be doubling back while Allen told him they were still heading west. He reached up and swiped his eyes with the back of his hand, a few frost-coated eyelashes dislodging and he sat up further, trying to rub some warmth back into himself in vain.

"Oi, Allen! I don't know about you but I could use some shelter right about now. It's just too damn harsh out here." Allen hummed unconcern and distraction at him, but didn't verbally answer, making Lavi's temper run short. "You listening to me? I said we should get outta this storm!"

"Yes, I heard you," Allen snapped, sounding like someone reprimanding a small, ignorant child. "But we aren't going to find it until we go a little bit further."

"A bit further to where?" Lavi had to raise his voice to be heard over the wind, but Allen still didn't answer him. "Do you even know where we are?"

"Of course I know," Allen replied, but his tone sounded less certain than his words. Lavi thought his blood must have frozen right then and there.

"We're _lost_, aren't we?"

"No..."

"Oh for the love of-" Lavi would have smacked his head into a wall were one available to him. "We _are _lost!"

"We aren't lost!" Allen snapped heatedly, before lowering his voice to a murmur that was almost entirely lost on the wind. "I just... need to get my bearings from a higher vantage point, that's all."

"Meaning, _yes_, we are utterly lost."

Allen sighed but didn't further argue, instead just focusing on finding the top of the hill where he would be able to see better. Finding a higher hill to survey the land didn't turn up much of anything worth noting that he could see though, the snow too thick, and Allen hummed nervous indecision.

Honestly? He really _didn't_ know where they were.

"Damn it."

"So we're lost."

"Yes," Allen finally admitted. "We're lost."

"Well it was nice knowing me," Lavi sighed, slumping over against Timcanpy's neck in defeat, getting to be too cold to even care anymore.

"Hey! No! We don't just roll over and go to sleep in the snow!"

"Technically I'd be falling asleep on your horse."

"You know what I mean!"

"Then find us shelter and we'll go to sleep there instead. I found it for us the last time." And he was too fatigued to search this time. He wasn't even sure he had the energy to summon a fire anymore.

"Look, I'm trying, okay?" Allen spat, suddenly sounding a little fearful as his eyes darted about the landscape, breath making more white to be whipped away by the wind. The white-haired male swiveled, squinting into the snowfall and trying to figure out or recognize some sort of landmark or detail in the land that would help him navigate, but he could make out nothing worthwhile.

Plowing onward, down through another small ravine, they came back to the coast, still without shelter and the driving snow threatening to consume them into its icy claws.

"Any bright ideas?" Allen tossed back, only receiving a half-conscious hum and cursing under his breath, whirling back towards his horse and Lavi to smack him hard in the side. "What did I say?! Wake up, damn you! Unless you're really that intent on freezing to death! You're staying alive if I have to bribe a necromancer to keep you animated!"

"Y-you'd like that, w-wouldn't you?" Lavi bit back. "Not sure I'm... gettin' much of a ch-choice h-here..." he chattered before Allen could reply, sitting up unsteadily and almost immediately sinking back down. "It w-was your bright i-idea to travel out here right n-n-now."

Allen cursed under his breath. He had been well-dressed for this weather, but Lavi hadn't. He'd only seen to it that he would be warm enough for a trip to Windhelm and then he was on his own from there. He barked for Lavi to scoot back so he could climb up onto the saddle, grasping Timcanpy's reigns.

"Look, just hold onto me and we're going to find some place to get out of this storm, alright? And if you go to sleep, I'm going to beat you like a drum!"

"Y'know y-you'd make a wond-d-derful motivational speaker?" Lavi quipped sarcastically, but otherwise pressed himself close against Allen's back, resting his head on the younger man's shoulder and arms around his stomach. Gods' blood, was he cold. They _definitely _needed to get out of this blizzard, before it turned into another full-on whiteout. They'd already lingered out in the elements too long.

He was in luck, finding a cave between the walls of one of the shallower ice ravines that faced the coast, hopping down off of Timcanpy's back and pulling Lavi down.

"Come on, let's get inside and you can make us a fire."

"W-won't hear any c-complains from me," Lavi stuttered, single eye half-lidded drearily.

The entrance was caked in ice, and beyond, the cavern turned to stone. Allen saw a glow of flame and cursed under his breath, depositing Lavi in the shadows and ordering him to stay silent, taking off his snow-bear cloak to drape over the redhead so he could be less visible and creeping forward.

He was unhappy to find out that it was inhabited by necromancers and their undead skeleton servants, and after the trek through the snow, he didn't feel up to a fight, and he knew Lavi wasn't going to be in any condition for one either. He could see hanging cages and ones on the ground on a ledge further up, and corpses skewered through on wooden pikes, long ago rotting or charred. Even from a distance, he could smell the repugnant rot, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

They couldn't stay here.

He spun around and moved as quickly and quietly as possible to where he'd left Lavi, who glanced up at him in question, only slightly more alert but not really any better than when they had come in, even with Allen's cloak helping keep him warm for now.

"We have to leave."

"What? Why?" Lavi at least had the sense to keep his disappointed croaking down.

"Necromancers," Allen replied simply, grabbing him by the upper arm and pulling the man to his feet.

"Th-thought you said... you'd bribe one to k-keep me... animate?"

"Figure of speech."

Lavi didn't argue, and they headed back out, finding Timcanpy and both climbing on stiffly. They'd have to risk the elements and keep going. He could feel Lavi shivering against his back and let him keep the cloak over his shoulders. It was large enough to _almost _cover them both, but Allen was confident that he wouldn't freeze with this set-up. "Just keep close to me. We can probably last a while longer sharing each other's heat."

Lavi only nodded and rested his head against Allen's shoulder as they headed back out, too cold and fatigued to argue. He tried to massage some warmth into his hands, but that was a failing endeavor, so he tried to make a flame instead, just a small one, but it only blew out as soon as it started and he cursed. Allen seemed to have noticed, and glanced back at him as the redhead continued to try to rub his hands warm against each other.

"Why'd you put it out?"

"T-t-too c-cold," Lavi chattered. "C-can't get it g-going."

Allen nodded, but it seemed like getting a fire going, even just a small one in Lavi's hands, might help them. It might mean the difference between freezing or surviving.

"Here, just give me a moment," he hummed, grasping Lavi's frigid hands in his and massaging them, trying to help them warm up, and even bringing them to his lips and breathing warm air against them in the hope that that would help. It was somewhat strange, really, the feel between Allen's normal hand and the deformed one, the sensation of calloused but still comparatively soft human flesh with rough, almost reptilian-like scales, yet oddly enough, that dark red arm almost seemed to radiate unnatural warmth from it.

"Try it now," Allen advised. Lavi nodded against his shoulder and tried to concentrate on channeling his magicka, just enough to create a small flame. At first it sputtered, small embers carried away by the wind and vanishing, but finally he managed a small lick of flame. Timcanpy glanced back with a snort of nervousness, but Allen only petted the animal's neck in reassurance, and the beast appeared to trust that its master would not allow it to be burned despite the ingrained fear of fire that all horses had.

Allen leaned back against Lavi's chest cozily, and the older male had no complaints against it in such biting frigidity, pressing forward into his warmth. His fingers were still cold, and in pain once the flame brought feeling back into them, but not to an unbearable degree.

They continued along the coast, ignoring Horkers that bellowed their displeasure at the passersby and navigating away from waves when the sea crashed too far inland, driven by the harsh winds. There was a brief moment where the tall cliffs broke and a hill offered passage further inland, but Allen was afraid of them getting lost again, resolving that he could still navigate fine so long as they head the sea nearby and the coast to guide them.

The waves finally forced them away from the coast and up a hill just after they passed by the ruin of Yngvild, located out past the water on a small island, and their new path took them uphill steadily, just as dawn broke.

Relief finally presented itself in the form of an old, abandoned tower, crafted from stone just shy of Dawnstar below.


	10. Mirror like Mud

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Having some place to take shelter from the cold was a definite relief, but neither Allen, Lavi, nor Timcanpy liked this place.<p>

What Lavi had first thought was a fort - though at one time long ago he was sure it had been, before falling under new management - appeared to be some sort of temple or shrine. The structure was moss-covered and smelled of things old and untouched by Man for a long time past. The wood structure looked untrustworthy and one of the stone supports inside had crumbled and fallen into the center of the room, crushing and scattering several rows of wood pews.

Just beyond it was a stone pedestal, a book sitting atop it.

What was most nerve-wracking about the place though was a continuous, repeating sound, a steady grinding noise of which they could not locate the source. The further in they headed, the louder it got.

Lavi used his flame to light up candles and torches strewn about the room to give them light to see by, revealing a tall, carved wall that the shadows danced off of in the most hideous way, revealing statuesque patterns. Lavi's eye wandered about it, making out swirls, the shape of a dragon's head near the bottom, some sort of mask-like face, then a woman in a robe with her hands placed together as if in prayer, with dragon heads like those on Nordic knars coming from her shoulders.

Just beyond it, they could both hear that scraping noise, steady and maintaining the same unbothered rhythm despite the building's new occupants. If not for the fact that they were already past their limit in terms of tolerance for the cold, they might have left already. For now, they would simply have to keep alert in case anything dangerous emerged.

They stayed on the far side of the temple, near the door. They broke apart one of the pews for firewood and used a small bit of hay from the pile in the far corner near the statue to build a fire, which soon illuminated the building even further and began to radiate warmth. Timcanpy stood to the far wall of them while the two men stretched out near the fire, having made a small pit out of the loose stones littering the grounds within.

Lavi was rue to admit to himself that he somewhat missed the closeness and shared body heat from their ride there, but Allen appeared as if he couldn't be happier to have his personal space back, spreading his cloak out on the ground to lay upon, while Lavi got a bed roll that had been tied to the back of Tim's saddle, so that neither would have their warmth zapped by direct contact with the stone floor.

Allen had also been carrying dried horker meat with him in a saddle bag and water in an animal-skin pouch, but it wasn't really enough to satisfy, merely hold them over for perhaps a couple of hours while they found rest from the blizzard outside. Lavi once again found himself missing the perks of civilization, even if it was merely an out-of-the-way place like Winterhold, where they would have at least been able to work their way into a warm meal. With how the weather was outside, hunting wasn't even an option, and they hadn't been lucky enough to find any beasts around or inside the temple.

For a while, they merely reveled in silence, listening to that awful scraping noise and the crackle of the fire, drifting in and out of a light sleep as the flames warmed them and the space they occupied. Predictably, Lavi was the one to break the silence.

"So where do you come from?" Allen glanced up, looking mildly surprised, but it was a common question. "Before all this bandit stuff, I mean. Like, as a kid?"

Allen shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Not sure. My memory is pretty patchy." He licked his lips a moment in thought, and Lavi didn't interrupt even though Allen was silent for several beats. "I spent some time in Riften, in that Gods' awful orphanage just near the Keep in the back. Ran away from that place. The woman there - she truly was terrible. I think she still owns it, too."

Lavi hummed to show that he'd heard, but let Allen continue.

"Then there were some Khajiit merchants... I followed them for a while, though they didn't seem to like me and my arm any more than anyone else did. Then there were bandit camps... in forts and old ruins, mostly. They didn't like or care for me either, but so long as I did things for them, just... small chores and annoyances they didn't want to deal with, I had a place to stay and food to eat at least, until either they got tired of me or something happened that they either died or got run out of where they were staying."

He looked as though he was pondering something else, another memory that was less unpleasant than the others.

"For a while, there was a man that took me in... someone that, for once, didn't seem to care at all about my arm. He was a jester, of sorts... but he didn't belong to any one Hold or court. Not even any one province, really. We traveled around to all sorts of places in Tamriel, Cyrodiil and Skyrim mostly, entertaining people everywhere so long as they had money or food to reward us with, or sometimes a place to sleep instead of camping out." He paused and pursed his lips, trying to mask a flash of pain that briefly flitted through silvery eyes. "He died, though... many years back. After that, it was my master who took me in, trained me how to fight and survive properly, mostly amongst bandits and outlaws, before he ran off to Gods only know where. Probably he grew tired of looking at me same as everyone else. Just took him longer than others, is all."

Lavi hummed sympathetically, his own eye tracing to Allen's arm. It was certainly strange, he wouldn't be able to argue that, but he didn't really see it as repulsive. Menacing, perhaps, but not repulsive.

"Well I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't think its all that bad to look at."

Allen glanced up at him, his expression one of mild disbelief. "Don't feed me that."

"What?" Lavi sat up slightly on his elbow.

"Your pretending makes me sick," Allen scoffed, eyes lingering on Lavi a moment before they flicked to the fire instead.

"How am I pretending?"

"As if it doesn't affect you at all," Allen stated, matter-of-fact. "You don't believe that at all, and I hate people who lie to cover their own asses."

Lavi couldn't help but cock a brow. "How am I covering my own ass?"

"You're trying to appeal to an ego you think I have. It's a brainless tactic, to try and make up a false bond with ones captor to get the person to drop their guard and extend trust, and I don't fall for that. Anyone whose smart knows better than to bond to their paychecks."

Lavi huffed and flopped supine onto the floor. "If that's the way you want to take it, then fine, but I was being sincere."

"Bullshit."

Lavi was silent for a moment, staring up at the ceiling before he sat up again.

"You said before that someone took you in and didn't care that your arm was the way it is, so why is it so hard to believe someone else besides them might also legitimately not care what it looks like?"

"Because he wasn't right in the head," Allen snorted wistfully.

"Okay, so just because he didn't care to notice, that made him crazy?"

"No." Allen shook his head. "I mean he was entirely daft... babbling jubilant nonsense at times and going into fits like a child in a nightmare for no reason at all in others. He failed to notice the things that were wrong with me because he failed to notice most of reality as a whole." He paused and lifted his eyes back to Lavi's face, raising a brow. "That damn lunatic even named me after his dead dog. Some days I wasn't sure if he even knew the difference."

"That's..." Lavi trailed off, and he couldn't seem to find the right semblance of words to even try replying to that. Allen snorted and rolled his eyes, before lying fully onto his side now.

"See? The only person who would ever not be bothered was someone too insane to tell the difference between his dog and a stray boy, and don't insult my intelligence by continuing to pretend it doesn't bother you."

"It doesn't."

Allen huffed, but refused to keep arguing about it. Lavi, however, was not so quick to drop it.

"Really, it doesn't. So what if you were born with a deformity? It's not as if you'd be the only one to ever have that happen."

"People aren't born with deformities like mine, though."

"Well, then, yours is just a little bit unique."

Allen snorted. "That's one way to describe it, I guess."

Damn, this kid was stubborn. Lavi huffed, losing patience, and stood up, circling around to where Allen lay and flopping down next to him, making the white-haired male stiffen.

"Hey! What in Oblivion do you think you're doing?" he snapped, sitting up sharply and pointing, as if he were ordering a dog. "Go sit back on your side of the fire!"

"No," Lavi returned, reaching out and grabbing Allen's deformed wrist.

Allen went even more tense and immediately lunged at him with a feral snarl, bowling him over. Lavi hissed as his back hit the floor, Allen's eyes gleaming a menacing gold at him in the firelight, but he didn't let the smaller male keep him pinned, flipping them over and rolling. Allen kneed him hard in the gut when the larger male ended up over him so that he doubled over further, then kicked him again and flipped them once more, pinning Lavi by the throat now and trying to pry his deformed arm free. As Lavi tried to rise, he butted their foreheads hard and made the redhead reel beneath him, and Allen finally managed to pull his limb free, that one joining its counterpart at Lavi's throat so that sharp claw-like nails threatened to pierce his flesh.

"Don't _ever _try to touch me again!"

Lavi stilled under him as those eyes seemed to almost glow in the dark, piercing into him like the eyes of a predatory _beast_, not a man, and he felt more frozen now by them then any wind or snow could make him. Seeming both satisfied and resigned by the fear he'd managed to instill, Allen began to move off him, but Lavi gripped his wrist again before he could and Allen growled low at him in warning.

"I'm not afraid."

Allen actually scoffed at him. "That isn't what your eyes and your body say."

"I mean by your arm," Lavi clarified. Allen resisted as Lavi pulled on it lightly, but froze rigidly as he pressed the hand against his own cheek, leaning his face against it and his single eye thoughtfully half-lidded for a moment. All Allen could do for several seconds, unable to comprehend what the older male was doing, but it was the following words that finally snapped him out of it. "It's so warm..."

Allen hissed and yanked his hand away so quickly that it left shallow, paper-cut scratches on Lavi's face, his expression twisting into a mix of disgust and genuine confusion.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me," Lavi defended. Allen only shook his head in exasperation, standing and retreating back to his fur cowl and settling down by the far, muttering various curses under his breath.

"You've spent too long in the cold, that's all. It went to your head and froze your brain in its skull."

"That isn't it," Lavi insisted calmly, rising and moving to sit beside Allen, who leaned away from him as if he had some contagious disease, side-eyeing him suspiciously. Lavi reached out for his left arm again, but Allen pulled it out of his reach, so he sidled closer with one arm reaching around the front and the other behind Allen's back, causing Allen to hiss at him again like an annoyed cat.

"Get off me!"

"Why are you afraid?"

"I'm not!" Allen snapped, bristling. "I just fucking hate the game that you're playing!"

"I'm not playing any games," Lavi stated sincerely, before cracking a small smile as he finally managed to grab Allen's wrist and pull it toward him, Allen trying to pull away again. "I mean, I could if you want me to. Believe me, I'm no stranger to them, but that isn't what this is."

The white-haired lad only glared heatedly at him and Lavi could detect something much akin to fearful expectation in his eyes, but he only wove his fingers in with Allen's and gazed down at it, Allen's eyes soon following his.

"It really isn't that bad. Its unusual... yeah... but ignore the heat and the outer surface of it, its still very much a human limb, with all the same shape and number of digits, and still attached to the same kind of being. Its a part of you, certainly, but it doesn't define everything you are." Allen still looked unconvinced, and when he lifted the hand up and pressed his lips to the back of it, Allen's breath hitched and his eyes went as wide as moons. "I think its something very special."

Allen ripped his arm free and tucked his arm into hiding against his chest, drawing his knees up and burying his face from sight. When he spoke, his voice was choked with pain.

"Stop it! You're just playing a game with me to hurt me!"

"I'm not," Lavi insisted gently, placing a hand on his shoulder gingerly, which Allen shook off and snapped his head up to glare, his eyes seeming to light up like fire itself once more.

"Yes, you are!" he snarled. "Just shut up! Don't touch me! Don't talk to me! Don't even _look _at me! If it weren't for the gold I'm making off of this deal I would have already killed you long ago! Keep up these games and I just still might, money be damned! If I hear one more wor- _Mmmph!_"

Allen kicked and writhed as Lavi pushed him to the floor with lips on his, kicking Lavi in the side and trying to shove him off. He would have clawed his healing shoulder open again too if the redhead hadn't pinned it as well but he still had the option of biting, and he did. Hard. Hard enough to draw blood, but the reprieve was short and he only had enough time to draw in a quick gasp before his mouth was captured again, this time a firm hand on his chin keeping him from biting down. Lavi's chest was pressed down on his, but his lower half was off at an angle away from Allen's so he couldn't kick the man in the groin either, squealing displeasure as he tried and failed to push him off.

He felt the heat and roughness of a tongue that wasn't his own slither past his teeth, Allen trying to push it out with his own and the two muscles wrestling for dominance of the space. His breaths came too quick and hard through his nose, his only available source for air, and he scrunched his eyes shut tightly as he struggled.

His head became light and the fight in his body died into pathetic twitches of helpless protest, and when his swollen lips were free to draw air again, all he had the strength for at the moment was to pant for oxygen where he lay, feeling Lavi's chest heave for air against his, eyes half-lidded and hazy. Lavi hovered over him for a moment, then bent down to plant a shallow peck, lips tenderly mouthing at his, slightly slick with blood from where Allen bit him. Allen turned his head away when his mind recovered enough to register it, and a chaotic mix of emotions swirled in his dangerous, silver eyes.

Lavi lifted his hand up to the redhead's lips again, where he lightly kissed the knuckles of his deformed fingers, once again shocking the white-haired young man.

"I'm not lying. Your deformity is what it is, and the rest of you is still beautiful." When Allen only continued to glare at him, as if he were some foreign thing he had never seen to be afraid of, Lavi sighed and got up, wandering back to his own sleeping place in defeat with Allen's eyes boring into his back like hot coals the entire way. "...whether you choose to recognize that or not, that's your own problem to work through. I'm going to bed."

He laid down with his back to Allen, and once Allen was sure the redhead was asleep, he turned his back to the other too, wrapping his arms around himself insecurely and trying to find sleep as well, hoping that slumber would help his mind erase it, but instead he found himself staring at the wall for hours as his thoughts continued to reel tempestuously.


	11. Not Eye to Eye

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>No surprise, Allen was still pissed at him the next morning. Or whatever time of day it was. It was so hard to tell when the damn clouds wouldn't let the sun through.<p>

The snow had lightened a bit now, so they could see trees and cliffs in the distance, rather than opaque masses of light and shadow only. A forest of trees awaited them down the hill, and to the far right of that, the coast. They headed down the hill, and Lavi was forced to walk while Allen rode Timcanpy just ahead of him. No way in the deepest, darkest pits of Oblivion was he letting the redhead ride _with _him after last night, or letting him ride at all. He would have to trudge through the cold snow on his own legs while Allen got to take it easy.

And with how much new snow had piled in the night, walking was _anything _but easy.

Lavi didn't complain though, and their trip this day was silent, save for the arctic wind that whistled by them and blew veils of white powder through the air.

At the very least, heading down the slope wasn't quite so hard. No beasts disturbed their down-sloped path, though a few mountain goats bleated at them from afar and took off up the rocks to their left. As they headed downhill, nearing the coast once more, a thatched rooftop came into view. And another. Sitting in a shallow bay was a Nordic knar with the sails of its mast tied up and the small ship docked there.

Lavi realized now that it was Dawnstar. He hadn't even realized they were that close to it. In the driving snow from the night(?) before, it had been impossible to discern their location. He glanced to Allen, but wasn't sure if the white-haired lad would pass it up or not. He didn't really fancy the idea of marching on without eating something warm, though, and hoped the other male would feel the same.

As luck would have it, he did intend on stopping there, probably just as hungry as Lavi himself was. They took a back path and he jumped down off his horse behind the inn building out of sight, then slipped between that and a house, looking about for guards rather than ask Lavi to for him. When he saw it was clear, they went in, and Allen ordered some food while pointedly _not _buying food for Lavi and giving him the cold shoulder. The only time he spoke to the redhead was to tell him they were leaving before he had the chance to put in any amount of work that would earn him a meal, and he made it very non-negotiable, choosing right as the innkeeper was busy to drag him off.

So they trekked onward, Allen content with a full stomach and letting Timcanpy do the work of walking for him, while Lavi was stuck trudging on foot on an empty stomach. The white-haired brat made himself an even bigger asshole by barking at Lavi not to walk with a fire in his hands, because it might draw the attention of hostiles. Lavi was more than certain that had nothing to do with it, but Allen made it quite clear what he would do to the man if he didn't obey.

Huffing, Lavi begrudgingly did, if only to pacify his grouchy traveling companion.

They followed the main road for a ways, and when it branched, they turned right, passing by an old burial mound on the way where a pair of skeevers leapt out at them. Most of the way was quiet, but unpleasant, and the snow began to fall more heavily again. Lavi was beginning to wonder if a day went by up on the northern shore when it _didn't _snow.

Allen paid it no mind, however, even as Lavi started to fall behind, his legs painfully cold. The only mercy he got was behind able to follow the path that Timcanpy took, plowing away some of the snow to make it a little bit thinner.

They didn't stop even as the sun went down, and when the road turned harshly south, they kept heading west, between two trail-marker stone piles. Marching through the snow before had been bad, but after dark, it became unbearable, the redhead shivering violently and tucking his hands into his pits, arms wrapped around his body in a vain attempt to stay warm.

"Any chance we're going to stop for warmth and rest?" he suggested, but Allen remained mute, blatantly ignoring him. It didn't really take very long for him to lose track of which way they were even headed, and he couldn't help but ask, "We're not lost again, are we?" Still, there was no answer. "Hey! Allen! You could at least give me a hum or something!"

Allen didn't even glance at him, and he sighed, glancing around for some kind of shelter, but there really wasn't anywhere to go. Only choice he had was to either follow Allen, wander off and get himself lost indefinitely, or drop where he stood.

Of course, given another twenty minutes of walking in silence and struggling to walk at all, much less keep pace, he picked the third option. Maybe Allen would pay him proper mind enough to find them shelter, then.

Just as he thought, as soon as he fell forward into the snow, the white-haired bandit was barking at him. No delay whatsoever.

"Hey! Get up!"

_He wants to play the ignoring game, I can play,_ Lavi mentally huffed, not replying and laying where he was. He heard Allen drop down from the saddle without having to look up, and the youth plowing through the snow to reach him, before the voice came again. "Hear me? Get your ass up." Lavi counted the seconds, and apparently so was Allen, because as soon as he hit three, Allen kicked him under the ribs. Hard.

Lavi jolted, but he refused to obey, passively laying there and ignoring the soreness in his side now, which was comparatively dull thanks to the cold.

Allen waited another three seconds exactly before kicking him harder, knocking the breath out of Lavi.

"I told you to get up!"

"Make me."

Allen obviously had no reservations against doing so, when he grabbed a fistful of Lavi's hair and pulled his head off the ground without even a lick of mercy, his other hand grabbing Lavi's arm tightly, but the redhead did nothing to help the man force him to his feet, even though the rough handling made him wince.

"On your feet, damn you!"

"No." Lavi didn't even let himself sound angry, only like he didn't care. That only served to piss Allen off even more, once again kicking out at Lavi's ribs. He made contact, but Lavi also grabbed his leg and pulled him off balance, sending both of them flopping unceremoniously into the snow. Allen kicked out with his free leg after they landed and managed to hit Lavi in the head, making him let go so Allen could scramble free and back onto his feet, his eyes snapping.

"Is this some kind of game to you?" Allen snarled, breathing a little too hard with rage.

_Well, in a way, its becoming that, isn't it?_

"You're the one who wouldn't even humor me with an answer to a very simple question," Lavi returned, having to try _really _hard not to let his voice be broken up by shivering as he stood shakily, his legs barely wanting to support him at this point.

"You didn't ask one worth answering."

"Well from where I was standing, I did," Lavi returned, rubbing his head where Allen kicked him. He hadn't done so lightly, either. Allen shook his head in exasperation and turned back towards his horse, jumping onto Tim's back.

"Keep moving," Allen barked, casting a glare over his shoulder. "We're not stopping here."

"Well I'm not going anywhere."

"You're following if I have to drag you bound and gagged!"

Lavi huffed audibly and narrowed his eye. "Just what is your problem? You've been acting like an ass all day when I haven't even done anything!"

He saw Allen roll his eyes, but once again, he was left without an answer. "Keep moving," Allen repeated coldly. He flicked the reigns, but feeling a little more rebellious at this point than was healthy, Lavi turned the other way. It didn't go unnoticed, but he didn't intend on it anyway. "Just where the Hell do you think you're going?" Allen cut him off on horseback, but Lavi looked unconcerned.

"Whatever way is opposite of where you're going."

Allen narrowed his eyes and pointed. "Solitude is _that _way, dumb ass! You wanted to go there, so I'm taking you. I didn't come all this way just for you to act like a damn five year old throwing a tantrum over a deal _you _wanted to make!"

"And I'll be lucky to make it there at this rate!" Lavi snapped, his temper wearing equally thin. "I told you I needed to stop and rest in shelter somewhere, but instead you ignored me and kept going! So y'know what? Screw this. I'll find my own way. At least if I drop dead in the snow, it won't be thanks to some pissy cut-throat brat like you!"

"I was taking us in the direction of shelter you moron!" Allen bristled. "And we might be there by now if you weren't being so difficult!"

"_I'm _being difficult?" Lavi wasn't even sure he _cared _about shelter at this point. Freezing to death was starting to look more appealing than dealing with this volatile _kid _for even one more day. "You let me walk through the snow all day and night without eating even a little bit, won't even let me light a fire to keep myself warm, ignore me all day, and kick me when I'm too cold to keep going, and _I'm _being difficult?" He threw his hands up as if he was looking for answers from the heavens themselves before turning and walking. "Honestly? Piss off. I'm done."

Allen snarled and leapt onto his back, sending Lavi face-first into the snow and pinning him by the shoulders, digging his claws in.

"People _died _because of what you did with your little escape stunt! You are not walking free without paying me like you promised, otherwise I'm finding the nearest Stormcloak camp and selling you off to them instead if I have to auction you off in _pieces _at this point you ungrateful-!"

He didn't get to entirely finish as Lavi gripped one of his wrists and twisted it hard, earning a bark of pain and throwing his weight up to knock Allen off him, flipping them and pinning him. Or at least trying to, but Allen already had a fairly good understanding for this routine, and had a foot planted against his lower abdomen by the time the redhead through his weight down, rolling and kicking Lavi off him again so he could spring to his feet once more.

Lavi didn't even fully recover to his own feet before Allen was upon him, forcing him against the trunk of a tree. Lavi pushed off of it and tripped Allen up to fall, but the shorter of the two merely rolled with the motion and flipped Lavi straight over him and onto his back, knocking the breath out of him. Allen brought a kick down, and Lavi barely rolled away from it, picking up a handful of snow and throwing it into Allen's face, momentarily blinding him just long enough to get him with a hard right hook to his jaw, making the kid fall limp into the snow.

Lavi stood panting for a moment, waiting for Allen to stir and get back up, but he didn't, lying unconscious. He heard Timcanpy plowing through the snow, but only stepped back a pace or two before turning for the horse, making a grab for the reigns. The horse flattened its ears and bit at his hand, large teeth snapping audibly, before it pushed past him to its master and nosed Allen, whickering worriedly.

Lavi only stood and watched for a few moments, before he turned and started trudging away.

Forget it. Let the little savage freeze. Half their trip was spent with the little shit attacking him anyway, and he really didn't owe the kid _anything_. The only reason Allen even kept him alive was for ulterior motives and he'd damn well gone out of his way to make the redhead miserable.

He made it a fair distance away, but then he stopped, sighing and glancing up at the sky, which was only growing darker and dropping even more snow than before.

He was pissed, but he wasn't a murderer. Maybe it wasn't with a blade, but knocking the guy out and leaving him to the elements was basically the same damn thing.

Groaning to himself and hoping he wasn't going to regret this, he turned back, finding Allen still there. Really it was only because of Timcanpy that he found the boy at all, thanks to the animal's bulk. The horse seemed happy to see him come back and pick Allen up out of the snow, waiting patiently for him to get both himself and Allen situated in the saddle.

_At least I won't have to walk anymore._ He didn't think he had the energy even if he had the stubbornness. He flicked the reigns and Timcanpy obeyed without question. _Now I just need to find us some safe shelter._


	12. Almost Home

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Lavi found shelter in the old Nord tomb of High Gate Ruin. When he got there, there was a Draugr outside and a few more within the entrance to dispatch, but it was nothing he couldn't handle on his own, even if he <em>was <em>cold.

Allen was still unconscious at that point, and Lavi couldn't help but feel impressed he'd managed to hook him that hard. He was almost worried maybe he'd done more damage than he thought, but a quick check over Allen assured the redhead he was fine other than having been knocked out and earned a bruise on the side of his jaw.

Maybe he should have felt bad about that, but after all the shit the whitette had given him recently, Lavi couldn't say with any honesty that he actually did.

Inside, he laid the boy out on his fur cloak, coaxed Timcanpy within the structure so the horse wouldn't end up freezing, and then scavenged for some wood to make a fire. Luckily he didn't have to search too deep, and the place had its own stone fire pits strewn off to the sides. One of which he moved - with no small amount of effort - into the center of the room and stoked a fire into existence with the help of one of his spells. He rubbed his hands together over it and chattered his teeth, still not having managed to fully bounce back, but it was much nicer now that they were out of the elements.

His stomach audibly growled and he felt another pang of bitter dislike for the young bandit that still had the gal to consider himself the older male's _captor_ despite the obvious, contradicting facts. The thought of leaving the teen here while he was still unconscious was not one that fell far from Lavi's mind, if not for the storm raging just beyond the door, nor the possibility of danger crawling up out of the ruins and killing the kid off while he was still asleep. Inside this place, there would be no source of food, only undead and maybe skeever. He had never been so desperate as to sink to eating the diseased vermin and he wasn't about to start now.

He sighed and laid out the bedroll from Timcanpy's saddle, shaking out snow and ice off to the side, before he laid it out and snuggled into the fabric, which might have been counterproductive with how _damn frigid _it had gotten thanks to their journey through the wilds outside. There was nothing to be done for it save for hope that his bodyheat would warm it and then it would warm him in return, leaving him unpleasantly too cold and shivering to even nap.

It was after it _finally _warmed up enough for him to get cozy and he was starting to doze that a groan roused him and his eye flitted open, Allen stirring awake once more.

The teen grimaced and blinked, sitting up slowly and reaching a hand to his pulsing jaw. He hissed faintly as his fingers brushed the nice bruise Lavi had left him with, then he looked about the semi-dark room they were in.

"You're welcome, by the way," Lavi murmured against the hem of the bed roll. Allen's eyes shot to him, a mix of confusion and accusation swirling in his silver eyes.

"What?"

"I could have just left you in the snow to freeze, but I didn't."

Allen's expression twisted into a feral glare. "And I'm supposed to be _grateful _that you knocked me out?"

"Just like the pot to call the kettle black," Lavi snorted softly, rolling his eye. "You attacked me first." When Allen opened his mouth to argue, he quickly added, "On _multiple _occasions. Now we're both stuck here without food or water until the storm passes, which could be _days, _and only one of us who actually got to eat. I hope you're proud of yourself."

Allen snorted and sat up further, his glare not lessening any. "Yes, I am, actually. Serves you right."

"For what?"

Allen didn't answer, looking away instead, but he was visibly seething just beneath the surface. Lavi sighed, sitting up and instantly missing the embrace of the bed roll, but he stoked the fire first before shimmying to pull it back up around him with very little success to show for it.

"Okay, look. We haven't really gotten off to a... few good starts. Whatever I've done to piss you off or make you hate me, I'm sorry, alright?" Allen made it a point to look even further away. Lavi had to resist sighing again, falling back onto his side. "I just want to get back to Solitude _alive _and be done with all of this. I'm not exactly any happier to be here than you are, but I'm trying my hardest to make it work, despite what an asshole you've been. Even if the storm passes soon, we're going to be stuck together a couple of days. You could at least _attempt _not to be so unpleasant."

"You're the one whose been so damn disagreeable and problematic."

Lavi couldn't help but huff sarcastic laughter. "I'd like to think I've been very agreeable for someone that attacked, caged and bound me, marched me through the snow, tied be to a post out in that snow snow and tried to ransom me off, attacked me, refused me food, marched me again, attacked me once more, and is still being a pissy brat even though I could have damn well let you frozen to death or be eaten by beasts out there." A scowl was steadily deepening across Allen's face as he spoke, but he could also detect a trace of guilt somewhere in there. "If I was _especially _vindictive, I could have even just slashed your throat myself and stolen your gear and your horse."

"Tim wouldn't have allowed that," Allen stated matter-of-factly. "He only recognizes me and my master as his riders."

Lavi cocked a brow. "You think people haven't tried and succeeded in forcing a horse into submission before? It happens all the time, and the option of killing him was available too." The horse whinnied something like protest and snapped its head up as if fully understanding, angling its ears uncomfortably. "But I didn't."

Allen huffed audibly and fixed him with a petulant glare. "Are you done?" Lavi only shrugged. "Where in the Hell even are we?"

"Not entirely sure. Its nearly impossible to see out there, but I _think _we're just across from Solitude. If we're where I think we are, this ruin faces the bay that inlets from the Sea of Ghosts, but I could be wrong about that. I think if we head due south though, we'll probably find Morthal, given another day or two, depending on how quickly we go."

"I hope you know I'm not going into Solitude."

"You already made that quite clear," Lavi said, undeterred. Allen silently licked his lip in contemplation before glancing up.

"Or Dragon's Bridge."

"Alright?"

"And you still owe me payment for this. How do I know you aren't just going to leave me high and dry? Or even rat me out as a bandit?"

Lavi thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Well I could argue that you should trust me until I go blue in the face and dragons themselves come alive from storybooks, but I can't make you believe anything." He paused, before adding, "-but minor scuffles aside, you've kept your end, and it's a long ways back to Windhelm."

Allen hesitated, eyes fixed on the floor before he nodded faintly, rolling over to make himself comfortable on the floor.

"I guess we should rest for now, then." His voice was notably subdued, reluctantly so, but hopefully that was an improvement. Lavi nodded in agreement and snuggled into the bedroll to try and find rest as well.

"Yeah, we definitely should."

They slept well through the night, and Allen was confident that Timcanpy would raise the alarm if anything worth worrying about showed itself, so he didn't need to sleep with an eye open. Lavi was plainly too tired to keep alert, but the pinch of hunger roused him to roll over with an upset huff every so often, even if it was pleasantly warm now. When noon came around and they were both awake, the snow had stopped, giving way to clear skies once more. Both were satisfied to spot the rising cliffs of Solitude and its stone walls not terribly far off, but they would have to travel a ways south before they would find a crossing, thanks to the water, and neither was dumb enough to swim in this cold.

The both mounted Timcanpy and rode south along the edge of the snowy marshes, running past a vicious Chaurus but otherwise having little to worry about. More than once they found dead bandits scattered about and half-decomposed or ripped apart by scavengers and beasts, and a few deer startled away from out of the brush as they went. Beyond that, they galloped over hills and across shallow channels of water, before finally finding Morthal. Allen didn't want to stop there for any length of time, but he gave in since Lavi hadn't eaten in nearly two days, and he thankfully didn't have to spend any great length of time working there anyway since they'd lifted some coin off the dead bandits they'd run across.

Once they were both warmed and fed, they headed out again, now along the main road west towards Dragon's Bridge. Beyond Fort Snowhawk, they were finally glad that the snow became less of a problem behind them, thinning until it only covered patches of land and coniferous forest. When the road forked, though each still heading in the generally same direction, Allen took the one to the right, then just after a smaller bridge that cut over quickly moving falls, turned right again and followed the sharp bank all the way down to the water where the river became shallow enough to reach the opposite side of the bay.

Just before it was a small, seemingly abandoned camp where Allen stopped and hopped down from his horse, night having fallen again by this point, but the weather was tame for once and the wilderness quiet.

"Just behind the water is Solitude. You can reach it if you cross over those rocks there," Allen sighed, walking around the small campsite in scrutiny and looking to make himself comfortable. "If you're really a man of your word, you'll meet me here with the gold you promised."

Lavi nodded, but didn't immediately budge. "I'm actually kind of tired, from all the travel... so when the morning comes, I'll head up there."

Allen glanced at him, but then shrugged disregard and started up the fire pit once more, stretching out next to it once he no longer needed to stoke it. Lavi stretched out on his back as well. The air was still frigid, but not nearly so bad. Really it was almost _warm _by comparison of how far north they had been, and he couldn't be happier to have left it behind at this point.

For a time, the only sound to be heard was the fire and crickets chirping their complaints of the cold night, and Timcanpy occasionally snorting or pawing the earth, nibbling grass here and there. Neither Allen nor Lavi spoke for a great stretch of time, but when a voice did break the silence, this time it was Allen's.

"Lavi?"

"Hm?" The redhead blinked at him, half asleep, and yawned, idly stretching his legs out. "What is it?"

Allen was silent for a long moment, and Lavi almost wondered if he'd merely been hearing things, but finally the white-haired lad glanced over at him. "Why did you say those things about me?"

Lavi sat up on an elbow and cocked his head, rubbing the sleep from his only visible eye. "What things?"

Allen looked away from him as if suddenly afraid, almost radiating uncertainty as he idly picked at the ground with one hand. "About my arm... saying it doesn't bother you and you just think its something special." He paused a moment, those silver hues distant, before glancing up searchingly. "Did you really mean any of it?"

"Of course I did," Lavi assured softly. "I mean, its just an arm. Its really nothing to make a big deal out of, and it's not like you can help having it, right? Judging people for immutable traits no matter what they are is just... dumb, to put it generously. Looks aren't everything... though, the one arm aside, you really are quite blessed with them. You don't have to be insane to see that."

Allen hummed, looking as though he couldn't entirely believe that, but for a brief flicker there was also gratitude and traces of what might have been a tiny smile. "Thank you."

Lavi smiled back. "No problem, White-Cap."

Aaand the smile was gone again, replaced by a glare. "That's _Allen_, to you, idiot!"

"Hey, I am not an idiot!" Now it was his turn to frown. "I happen to be both intelligent _and _well-educated, thank-you-very-much!"

"Idiot-Lavi!" Allen stuck his tongue out.

"How'd you like to be woken with a bucketful of ice water in the morning?"

"I'd like to see you try without a bucket!"

"Then I'll just drag you down to the river and throw you in instead, shorty!"

Allen's eyes widened in offense. "Leave height out of this or I just might knock a few inches off of _yours_!"

"First you'd have to be able to reach that high!"

"Oh yeah?" Allen barked, leaping at him.

Timcanpy snorted and watched the two boys tumble across the ground along with a whole slew of insults, the horse shaking its head and wandering off out of the way to let the two brats sort it out themselves.


	13. Slip of the Tongue

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Lavi had never in a million years thought he would be <em>so Gods damn happy <em>to be returning to Solitude. He had rested the night before, after he and Allen finally settled down, but it wasn't enough to cure the ache in his body or the fatigue from more than a few days of snow-blasted cold. He was amazed at himself that he wasn't staggering from one side to the other as he walked up the sloped road to the front gates. His legs certainly felt weak at this point, if they hadn't already.

The guards greeted him cordially and he smiled back at them in relief to even _be _here instead of in scattered pieces throughout several different kind of beasts' stomachs. The buildings just within, of the Winking Skeever and Bits And Pieces, and the stall merchants just beyond, were a sight for sore eyes. He lamented even the _idea _of having to walk up the ramp toward the fletcher and blacksmith's shops, but it was the necessary evil at this point if he wanted to reach Castle Dour.

The guards and soldiers outside of it in the courtyard recognized him and didn't question as he stepped inside the Dour, walking straight to the strategy room where the Empire's General and many of his higher ranked Legionnaires were discussing their next moves. They glanced up and many of the faces were surprised as the redhead reached the doorway.

It was one man in particular - General Tulius - his hair white with age and features sagging, that addressed him, coming forward and eyes wandering over the younger male appraisingly.

"So you're still alive! When the rendezvous sent back word that no one arrived in Windhelm to meet them, we feared that you perished."

Lavi felt a stab of bitterness at that, still wondering to himself if the man had even truly cared or if he might have even been _glad_. He knew better than to consider it with any seriousness, his value as a piece in their war game too high to dispose of so readily, but it didn't stop him from still feeling a little bit resentful after all the trouble he'd been put through in the last two weeks or so.

"Well, unfortunately, everyone else in the band you sent out _did_ die," he stated, forcing his tone and demeanor neutral. "I was the only one who made it."

"I see," the General hummed, sliding an arm over his shoulders and escorting him in towards a chair. "That's very fortunate, though. Do recall how it happened?" He paused for a moment and glanced at his men. "You there, go fetch some warm food and mead. I'm sure our comrade here could use it after coming all this way."

_Oh yes please,_ he couldn't help but silently thank, glad to be off his feet and amongst company that actually cared to be accommodating at _all _at this point.

"We were attacked by a group of bandits between Winterhold and Windhelm... near..." he paused and squinted his eyes shut, trying to think properly of where they had been and mapped locations. "Snow Veil Sanctum? Somewhere close to there, I think."

"I see. So how did you survive?"

"There was a mercenary, out on the road. I was running on horseback and he saw the bandits chasing me, came to my aid just before they managed to catch up and we fended them off. He was very skilled," Lavi recounted, having already gone through in his head multiple times what to say. General Tulius nodded and waited for him to continue. "After that, he agreed to help escort me back here if I paid him once I managed to get here. I promised to pay him after I had a little time to rest."

"Oh?" Tulius glanced up and towards the door as if expecting someone, but his brows furrowed in mild confusion that only the redhead had entered. "Where is he now?"

"Just outside of Solitude. It was a long journey and he was exhausted, so I went ahead and promised to rendezvous."

"Well that's very trusting of him," Tulius hummed in scrutiny, obviously suspicious. "To let you go ahead without seeing any coin at all first."

"Well he became knocked out during our trip after we ran into a fight," Lavi half-lied. "And I saved and tended to him instead of left him there, so I suppose he trusted me not to skip out on paying him."

Tulius nodded, but before he could continue, there was a yelp of delight that interrupted them, a black-haired girl running and throwing her arms around him, squeezing his shoulders tightly.

"Lavi! You're alright!"

"Yeah, I'm okay," he assured, hugging his arms around the small of her back, contentment flooding him at the warmth of her embrace.

She pulled back and looked him up and down, as if searching for any trace of injury that might tell her he was lying, but she found nothing immediate to be worried about. Her eyes shone with both a maternal sort of concern and deep relief. "They told me you didn't make it to Windhelm and I thought you must have died out there somewhere!"

"I'm fine, Lena, really," he offered again.

"_Che. _So you're alive after all, Rabbit."

Lavi sighed, nodding his head in acknowledgment towards a black-haired man that stood off to the side, having entered last. "Good to see you too, Yuu."

"Call me that again and I'll make you wish the snow claimed you!" the ravenette threatened, fingers tightening around the hilt of a sheathed sword until the knuckles turned white.

"So about this mercenary..." Tulius interrupted, drawing Lavi's attention back to him as the guard returned with food and drink. It smelled beyond tantalizing and he could barely resist scarfing it all down straight away.

"Yeah, about that..." Lavi sighed, already knowing that this wasn't going to go over easy, but it couldn't be avoided. "His price for guarding me all the way back here was five-thousand gold."

Tulius' brows rose high, almost disappearing into his very short hair. Lavi was sure he even glanced Yuu Kanda's brows go up.

"Five thousand?" Tulius repeated. He could hear the deepening suspicion in the man's voice. "That's an awfully large price to ask..."

"He was very persuasive," Lavi said, licking his lips and gazing down at his food. "It was either accept his service or he was going to leave me to the bandits and the wild beasts, and I lost my weapon at that point to the outlaws. Plus, he was one of the more skilled people I've ever met." He couldn't stand waiting anymore, shoveling up a spoonful of food into his mouth, which was heavenly after everything he'd gone through recently. The inn's they'd stopped at had had food, yes, but most of it was very bland and only good for keeping the stomach full, not taste buds satisfied.

"I see. That's very shrewd of him." Lavi could feel Tulius watching him, but he did his best to at least appear entirely enthralled in his meal. "What was he like, this mercenary?"

"Clever, more than anything-"

"Clearly," Tulius snarked.

"-and quite strong for his size. A little bit of an attitude. Still, he got me across the entire northern stretch with little trouble or confrontation. I'm honestly surprised that we didn't run into more trouble, but I guess he knows his way well."

"He sounds like a very good potential ally to have."

Lavi glanced up and decidedly didn't like where this was going. "I said something about it, that he could use his skills to be of some help to your cause, but he seemed uninterested in getting involved with the war or becoming a soldier."

"Well perhaps I might be able to change his mind. I'd like to meet him for the payment myself."

Lavi almost slipped in saying that he didn't think that would be a good idea. "I really don't think he's interested. He made it very clear that he just wants to claim his reward and be on his way."

"Well, I should at least congratulate him for a job well done. After all, it would have been more than tragic were we to have lost you. Where did he say he was going to meet up with you?"

"Around Dragon's Bridge." It wasn't a total lie. The camp site was very close to the town.

"And what was the name of this mercenary that helped you out?"

Should he say? If he refused, that might make the man suspicious. Besides, it was only a first name that he had gotten out of the boy, and not one that Lavi hadn't heard before at least a handful of times.

"Allen."

Tulius fell silent and he could feel a certain tension about the man, glancing from the General to one or two others that likewise became more alert to the name.

"Allen Walker?"

Lavi shrugged, but he was silently cursing at how familiar with it they suddenly seemed. He had suspected that maybe the teen had some sort of bounty or reason for avoiding major settlements, but only now did he feel assured that it was explicitly that reason and no other, going by the reactions of those in the room.

"I don't know. He only told me his given name."

Tulius narrowed his eyes at the redhead, a dangerous light to them. "Was it a Nord with white hair and a strange arm?" Lavi hesitated to answer, but it was a long enough omission to confirm it even if he had lied to cover for the lad, and Tulius interrupted him before he could answer. "_Exactly _where did you say you were to meet with him?"

He hesitated a moment more, feeling as though his stomach was twisting itself into a knot, but he didn't see any way of getting out of answering honestly at this point, wishing he'd chosen his words a little more carefully from the start. He could feel eyes on him from every direction, scrutinizing him.

"Down the hill just before Dragon's Bridge, and across the water where the bay meets the river at the shallowest point."

Tulius nodded and looked around at the men gathered, pointing to several of them. "You men, and you, Kanda, go and arrest that man, _alive_, if possible. I trust you can do it." Kanda only nodded and turned for the door silently, not waiting for anyone else to gather or speak to him. "That was no mercenary you dealt with, it was a bandit. One of the trickiest you'll ever find in all of Skyrim and Wanted throughout every Hold," Tulius growled. "But maybe your meeting him wasn't so much a bad thing. We've been trying to get him for ages now, him _and _his master. You're just lucky he didn't slash your throat."

Lavi only stared after the leaving soldiers helplessly, guilt settling in his chest. He held his tongue, knowing that no good could come out of his protests to protect the white-haired male - and really, what did he know about what Allen had or hadn't done? - but for one reason or another, he silently hoped that the lad might see them soon enough and flee before anything ill could befall him. With Kanda leading the charge, he highly doubted as much, but he was hoping nonetheless.


	14. The Capture

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Even near the front door of the Dour at a table, Lavi could still hear Tulius and Legate Rikke discussing, just enough to hear their voices but only managing to catch a few snippets here and there that weren't enough to make proper sense of. He was on his second bowl of food but now that he had a bit already in his stomach, the taste had gone from superb to ashen on his tongue. Maybe it wasn't the food so much as his state of mind. He couldn't help but dread how things were going to play out if, or rather more likely, <em>when <em>they got a hold of Allen.

"You seem worried," Lenalee noted, eyes shining concern. Lavi glanced to the side at her, then back at his mug of ale, pursing his lips. "About that man?"

The redhead snorted. "I'd hardly call him that. He's younger than any of us, even younger than you, I'd hazard to guess. He's not a man, he's a _kid_." He paused to sigh heavily. "And I might've just involuntarily gotten him killed, when I told him that I could make things work out for both of us."

"Well maybe you still can," she proposed gently, sitting next to him and brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "You're smart."

He shook his head. "If they hadn't figured out he was some highly wanted criminal, maybe, but now? And you know my old man. He'll hear about it, and when he does..." he trailed off, figuring he didn't need to continue. "The only way he's getting out of this is if he hauls ass far, far away from here, but that doesn't change the fact that he'll think I did it on purpose."

Lenalee hummed. "You don't believe he's going to get away though, do you?"

"No," Lavi confessed quietly, his single eye watching his surroundings carefully. He liked to talk with Lenalee - truly and _honestly _- but he knew that each time was a risk he really couldn't afford. He admitted things to her that he shouldn't, but she was always patient and good at keeping secrets to protect her friends. "He's skilled and smart, but Tulius sent Yuu out after him. Chances are low that he'll even see the guy coming until its too late to do much about it."

Lenalee pursed her lips and nodded, knowing he was right about that.

"Let's just hope that neither of them push the other to the point of killing, because I think that alone might be a very generous outcome."

* * *

><p>Finding the rendezvous point was a little easier said than done, but Kanda was patient when it mattered. He and the men following him walking along the road, stopping periodically so that the swordsman could climb up onto a boulder here or there that flanked the road, staring out at the land far below and trying to figure out where this point was.<p>

Lavi had said it was just before Dragon's Bridge, but that could have been either direction, if he hadn't fortunately clarified that it was where the bay and river met at the shallowest point. They passed the ruins of Meridia until they were about halfway between that and Dragon's Bridge. When he stepped out onto the cliff edge, a Stormcloak camp came into view below, but he knew the bandit wouldn't be there, and he wasn't concerned with them right now. He extended his senses further, and he saw it: the point where the river channel was obstructed by large rocks, making for a perfect crossing. That must have been where Lavi was talking about, since they had come from the northern span of Skyrim.

It would have cut their travel time by half a day, and Lavi was both clever and opportunistic when he wanted to be. He didn't extend more energy towards something than he had to if there were alternatives.

"You men, keep going through Dragon's Bridge and circle around behind to where that cluster of trees is." He pointed. "I bet that's where he's hiding. When you get into position, wait for my signal."

They went to follow his orders without question, and he doubled back on the road until he found the point where the rocks ended and there was instead a dirt slope he could navigate. Even though he was sure that was where this man probably was, he kept his senses trained, listening to the sound of the forest and watching for movement that wasn't a bird or small animal, ready to draw his sword at a moment's notice.

Just before he could reach the hidden Stormcloak camp, he snuck around and further down the slope, using the trees and rocks for cover. Beyond that, he could see the river just below a clearing, and clamored up onto the top of a small cliff overlooking it, peeking his head over. He spied a light yellowish horse, startlingly visibly against the dark brown soil on the bank, and another small figure that was solid wide. It looked to be an old man with pure white hair, small and hunched over on the ground next to his horse and watching the water distractedly, in the way old people often spaced out or seemed to find enjoyment out of the most mundane things.

They had to send _him _to collect this crumpled old bag of bones? What a damn waste of his time. He looked like he was probably some frail old codger ready to collapse and break his own hip just walking about doing regular tasks.

He backed away from the cliff and snuck down towards the bank, not having much cover to work with, but he was quick. He sprinted to the edge and leapt across to one of the boulders, and only now did the small figure's head shoot up, then they leapt to their feet quickly as Kanda made his way across the rocks, drawing his blade halfway there. Only now did he see that it wasn't an old man at all, it was a _very young_ man, younger than he was, with a pretty face and hair as white as the snow, even whiter than the snow-bear pelt he wore around his shoulders.

Kanda leapt across the last stone and into the shallows, and there was calculation in the smaller lad's monochrome eyes, a moment of indecision where he weighed whether to fight or run, but he settled on _run_, turning tail for his horse, sweeping up into the saddle in one fluid, practiced motion and wheeling the stallion around to sprint up the bank.

"Now!" Kanda shouted, already knowing that the guards were in position at this point. He'd glanced them from his earlier perch atop the rocks when he'd surveyed the scene and just as he counted on, a few men leapt out of hiding, and an arrow found itself lodged in the front of the animal's shoulder just to the side of its chest, the horse faltering in pain and whinnying loudly.

Kanda went to grab the boy and yank him off his horse, but he hadn't expected that the shorter male was already prepared for him, swinging around on one stirrup closest to the swordsman and kicking him hard in the side of the head, making Kanda stagger. To call the boy - what had they called him... Allen? - quick on the reflexes was underplaying it. The albino was considerably fast, and more than that, his attacks packed some real force behind them.

Kanda had underestimated the teen once, but he never made the same mistake in a fight. He lashed out and grabbed Allen by the collar before he could fully free himself from the second stirrup, setting him off-balance so that he flipped over with his leg still caught, hitting the ground headfirst. The horse brayed at him and whirled to kick out its front legs, and Allen cursed, rolling off to the side to keep from getting trampled under his own defending steed, struggling to pull his leg free which was no only more tangled than before.

Kanda cursed and tried to get around the animal, but it turned to meet him, stomping angrily and almost ramming him with its head. He nodded to another man somewhere behind the horse to move in, and Tim instantly whirled on the guy, giving Kanda just enough of a chance to slash toward the stirrup and cut the leather, Allen finally free to scramble back, and for him to grab the fool and drag him away from the horse's hooves.

The stallion bellowed at him again and went to defend its master, but the soldiers drew its attention as they tried to restrain the fighting best. Allen snarled his own animalistic sound and flipped from his back to his stomach in an instant, grabbing Kanda's arm with both hands, the nails - no, the _claws _- of one hand raking gashes all the way down his forearm and making Kanda leap away from him and pull free in surprise.

Only now did he glance the grotesque, deformed arm and the vicious talons that extended off the end of it, the teen's eyes flashing a dangerous shade and lips curling away from his teeth like the snarl of a feral wolf, if only lacking a sharp set of fangs to complete the image. The boy charged at him and swung his back at the man, sweeping low. It seemed like an idiotic move at first, but Allen kept pivoting, sweeping his leg out beneath Kanda's and managing to trip him only slightly, before the kid brought the back of his head up to impact against Kanda's face, momentarily blinding him with pain.

By the time he recovered, Allen was already behind him.

_Fucking Oblivion, this brat is quick!_

He whirled around but Allen was already swinging for his stomach with those claws, and Kanda quickly clenched his fist, both of them hitting each other at the same time. Kanda couldn't help but grimace as those claws managed to dig into his flesh, but he'd managed a more solid hit, hearing the air rush out of the smaller bandit's lungs and send him crumbled into the dirt, struggling just to gasp.

Kanda brought his heel down between his shoulder blades before Allen could recover, knocking the wind out of him again before he could even recover it the first time, and stomped his boot down over that clawed hand to pin it to the dirt. The point of his blade pricked the back of the bandit's neck before he could recover, just behind his ear in warning. If he tried to push himself up, he'd get a very unpleasant spear through the head.

"If you want to continue breathing, I suggest you don't move," Kanda growled threateningly. He didn't take his eyes off the kid for even a second as he barked at the soldiers again. "Bind him. We're taking him back to the city."

One visible eye slid sideways, barely peeking through mussed white bangs, but Allen didn't fight, all too aware of the precarious position of the sword against his nape. There was a dangerous gleam to them, and something else Kanda couldn't quite make sense of, but it didn't matter. They had him just as ordered.


	15. Betrayal and Myth

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Allen would have certainly liked to make their journey difficult, but his thoughts were swirling too much to think of anything suitable, with his arms bound behind his back and forced to walk on-foot while the other men led his horse. It wasn't as if he had never been bound before, and getting out of rope was child's play to him... or at least it <em>would <em>have been if that swordsman wasn't holding his arm tightly and watching his every move.

At least he had the satisfaction of having managed to shred the man's one arm and rip a good couple of holes in his belly though, not to mention bloody up his nose. When he got the chance, he also made it a point to stomp on the asshole's foot as hard as he could, which wasn't enough to make the man release him, but it did give him a great deal of personal satisfaction when he heard curses fly out of that scowl of his.

Of course, it didn't exactly win him any favor or gentleness, the man shoving him roughly, even throwing him to the ground and threatening to slash his throat once when he wouldn't stop trying to make their journey toward Solitude miserable, but he didn't exactly believe they would be any kinder to him once they reached the Dour's dungeon either. There was no prison he could think of that was quite so pacifistic towards anyone, much less someone such as him once people got a good look at his arm.

The only real discomfort he had was that he couldn't hide the damn thing in his cloak as they walked through town, earning stares and gawking from every person between the front gates and the castle.

When they marched into the training courtyard next to the Dour and through the front door past several guards standing watch outside, he immediately spied Lavi and a girl about his own age near him, watching with eyes curious in the girl and regretful in Lavi's. Allen narrowed his eyes spitefully, not really getting as much enjoyment as he hoped at how the redhead seemed to wither under his glare, before he turned his head away sharply, staring forward.

In the well-lit room just beyond, an older man with short, white hair - white with age, unlike his - and dressed in fine armor awaited, wrinkles sagging his weathered face. Beside him was a woman with hardened eyes that reflected a great deal of experience and muscles that could put some men to shame. Kanda let him go and stepped somewhere off to the side, two fresh guards flanking the white-haired male in his place at either shoulder.

"Allen Walker," the older man greeted. Allen pointedly raised his nose, not caring about how arrogant it made him come across.

"Tulius," he greeted coldly. The man seemed surprised, his brow quirking up ever so slightly.

"I don't believe we've actually met in-person, but you seem to know me."

"Hard not to know the General in charge of the Imperial Legion, even if you live under a rock."

Tulius cracked the faintest of smirks, though there was no warmth to it.

"Indeed. Well I have also heard a great deal about you. You're quite infamous across the Holds. Mostly for theft, of course... skipping out on paying for things or cheating others out of money, and quite a lot from what I hear..." Tulius nodded his head to himself with an overly satisfied sort of err. "Exactly how much have you swindled people out of again?"

"More coin than your precious Emperor has or ever will let you see for all your years of dedicated services, I can assure you," Allen hummed, even more smug as he watched the man's smirk fade into a frown. The man didn't let it affect him for long, though.

"And look where that's gotten you." He paused for a moment, before continuing. "Of course, that isn't all you're guilty of. I've heard you've assaulted quite a number of people in your time, attempted to kill a handful of people including a nice old lady in Riften-" He paused as Allen snorted, a far too humorous smile breaking across his lips. "Is something funny?"

"Yeah, it's hilarious, actually," Allen piped, glancing up with a face that was far too innocent and proud all at once. "You obviously haven't the slightest idea about that one 'nice old woman', and all it would have taken to figure it out was check behind the door of the small room near the back, with the wall shackles and the dried blood where she beats every child to ever have had the misfortune of ending up in that shithole you call an orphanage."

"Hm. Well that is unfortunate," Tulius hummed, but the unconcern in his voice made Allen's expression darken again. "Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about that until we reclaim the Rift from those traitorous Stormcloaks."

"Oh, I'm sure," Allen mused sarcastically, not fooled into thinking the man cared at all to change things if or when they regained control of the region. Tulius scowled again more deeply, obviously not appreciating his content of character being judged by a criminal teenager.

"...and of course, I'm not unaware that you've made it past attempting to commit murder either. You have quite a record, yet somehow you manage to avoid the law. And then there's the issue of Marian Cross." He saw Allen's eyes flick up, feeling a rush of satisfaction that he managed to catch the boy's attention with that. "Guilty of deserting the Legion, and leading you into committing all these crimes along with him, I'm sure."

Allen stayed silent, stock still and his eyes fixed on the man like a dog sighting prey.

"It seems rather strange to me, that someone as highly regarded as Cross would abandon his post, as a _General _of all things, only to travel the province with a child at his side. I never really took the man as one to tolerate children."

_Oh, believe me, there's nothing tolerant about him. _He wanted to sneer about just how right the man was about his Master, but he held his tongue, knowing better.

"I especially didn't take him as the type to tolerate ugly things either, and I've heard that you have _quite _the horrifying appendage," Tulius continued, stepping forward and grabbing Allen's upper arm, turning him to the side with a harsh yank, but Allen refused to make a peep at the dull pain that spread through his shoulder at the rough treatment.

Tulius' eyes wandered his arm with a look of notable disgust before stepping back and wiping his hand on a cloth piece of his armor as if touching it alone might have infected him with something.

"What's the matter? Surely you've seen worse in your line of work?" Allen taunted, off-handedly enjoying the man's discomfort to distract from his own.

"Oh, I've seen things like it. Usually among the pits of Daedric worshippers and other distasteful people dabbling in forbidden arts."

"My master wasn't a Daedra worshipper."

"Perhaps, perhaps not... but it's no mystery to me that your master dabbled in Necromancy on top of being a deserter. There's no telling what other monstrous things he may have done that we aren't aware of."

"Well I can assure you that I don't crumble into a pile of ash when you hit me. You, however-..." he paused and glanced the old man up and down. "You look like a good breeze would make you crumble and blow away."

Tulius frowned and nodded to one of the guards standing at each shoulder of the boy, who punched him just below the gut and made the teen double over. Tulius waited for Allen to recover, snatching a few hard breaths before staggering back to his feet and flipping his hair away from his face, the light of defiance in his silver orbs not having dulled at all.

"You're right, I guess you aren't just a reanimated corpse," Tulius snarked. Allen didn't let his cold expression waver at all. "But that doesn't mean you aren't possibly some vile experiment or daedric abomination yourself."

Nothing he hadn't heard people spew before. "I'm not a daedra or an experiment. I'm a human who just happened to be born slightly deformed."

"Slightly?" Tulius scoffed, before shaking it off. "Well, anyway, it doesn't matter. I really don't give a skeever's ass what you are, it doesn't change the actions you've committed against the citizens of Tamriel. However, I'm not a man entirely without mercy. If you tell us where General Cross has gone, perhaps we can come to an arrangement."

_Except that I don't know where he is. _And he didn't trust that Tulius was anything even remotely close to merciful, especially were he to admit that Cross had disappeared even from his knowledge. No one was ever that merciful.

"Sure, I'll tell you," Allen said, smiling sweetly like a guileless child. "Just as soon as you get bent. By a Giant and his pet mammoth."

Tulius scowled and nodded again, Allen buckling over as the guard punched him hard in the gut again, pulling him back to his feet by his shoulders.

"Take him down to the dungeon," Tulius ordered crisply. "Come morning, the headsman will have more to say to him than I do."

Allen didn't struggle at all as he was led away, making it a point to look anywhere other than at Lavi, who still sat in the same spot off to the side of the Dour's front entrance.

A flight of stairs off to the side led them down to a multi-leveled cylindrical prison, where he was stripped of all his clothes and gear except for only the barest of underwear and made to change into a shabby pair of pants and shirt that felt like they were made from rough burlap.

The top level of the dungeon was full of rooms for the guards to hang out in and a torture chamber, filled with devices and tools for maiming, gutting, and stretching all covered in blood both old and new that made him inwardly shiver as he passed. Beyond that at the far end was another flight of stairs leading to the cells on the level below that, and the one he was shoved into was dark and uninhabited, though he'd spied a few other prisoners in adjacent cells watching him curiously, at first seeming interested in his physical looks until a glance at his scaled arm turned it to repulsion and fear.

The prison guard was at least nice enough to bring him something to eat - a last meal, he guessed - but it offered very little comfort.

He ate in silence and waited for the guards outside to wander back to the level above before he started looking about his cell, hoping that it was one of the jailbroken ones. He knew the marks well - a circle with a line through the center, and a triangle off the side of it - thanks to experience and the many bandits he had lived near or amongst throughout his life. Marks the Thieves Guild had first made and every other lowlife had soon become familiarized with afterwards.

He searched for the carving everywhere, especially on the floor near the back walls, but there was nothing promising a passage out, nor any loose stones in the wall that might fall away to reveal a tunnel if he pushed hard enough. He sighed. So much for getting out that way.

"Hey..."

Allen's head snapped up, and when he saw who it was, he immediately narrowed his eyes in disgust. "What do _you _want?"

Lavi at least had the proper sense to look apologetic, but no amount of "sorry"'s or words would remedy the situation. Unless the _traitor _planned on bringing him a key out of this place and a way past the guards, he was not now, nor would he _ever_, be forgiven. Lavi opened his mouth, but he hesitated, scuffing his shoes as he tried to figure out what to say and came up empty, at a loss. He knew offering up an apology wasn't going to help either of them feel better, so he didn't give one, but Allen was becoming no more patient the longer he thought about what he should say.

"If you're not here to help me, then _get out_," Allen hissed, throwing himself down to sit on the hay pile that they called a 'bed' in this place. It really did little of anything to cushion the floor or keep the cold out. "I have no interest in backstabbers."

Lavi didn't move for a long moment, mute, and Allen honestly considered attacking him through the bars just to get him to leave.

"I didn't send them after you," Lavi finally said, his voice almost impossibly soft. "I lied about who you were, but they still figured it out. I just... didn't want you to think that I betrayed you."

Allen rolled his eyes. "Oh boo-hoo what I think or what you want me to think or not think. Does any of that spare me from the headman's axe tomorrow?"

"No..."

"No," Allen parroted, his voice more clipped. He was silent for a moment, before huffing laughter, shaking his head. "And to think, I almost thought you were different." Lavi glanced up at him, brows furrowing in question, but Allen only stared him down with utmost disdain. "But beyond your word, you're exactly the same. All of it was just bullshit."

"I wasn't-"

"Shut up!" Allen snarled, visibly bristling and his eyes flashing malice in the dark, almost seeming to glow for a brief second. "I don't want to hear it. Just get out!"

Lavi sighed slowly out his nose and stepped away, looking conflicted for a moment, before he turned and left, leaving Allen alone again. The boy was glad to be alone once more so he could sort and quiet his tempestuous thoughts, laying on his side and listening to the faint flicker of torches just outside his cell in the center of the room, the occasional sneeze or grumble of a guard somewhere up above, or the occasional hum of another prisoner elsewhere.

At one point he tried to pick the lock on his cell, but his pick snapped and he silently cursed his bad luck, not having another one. He could sometimes use his claws, depending on the lock, but not on this one. Didn't look like he was getting much of a choice except to stay put and await whatever came in the morning, not sure if the threat of death had been a bluff to scare him into giving up information - that he didn't even _have _- or if Tulius had been serious. And if it had been a bluff, most likely he would be seeing that torture chamber up close long before he ever saw his freedom, if he was ever going to get it at all.

The night went on quietly, Allen half-dozing and roused occasionally by the sound of activity. Guards walking about, mostly. It was when several guards appeared outside his cell door that he fully roused, assuming it was probably morning.

"Allen Walker, approach the cell door and extend your arms." Allen glared at them, not moving, and the guard grew impatient rather quickly. "You can either do this the easy way, or we can make you do it the hard way."

He considered rebelling, but in the end, relented. What would be the point, really? Other than just prolong the inevitable and make them less likely to give him a swift, somewhat merciful end. He really hoped that, if Tulius had been serious about having him executed, that the headsman's axe was nice and sharp. He'd heard more than one horror story about executions carried out with dull blades that took more than one swing to kill the convict in question. Most of the time, it was on purpose, done out of spite and twisted pleasure in watching the person suffer. He feared that more than he feared dying itself, were truth be told.

He extended his arms to be bound in front of him before they opened the gate and escorted him out. Suddenly the desire to see Timcanpy and give the horse his proper goodbye was overwhelming, but he knew they wouldn't let him see his faithful companion for fear that he would try to escape, not even bothering to ask.

What would the animal even think? Would it realize he wasn't coming back, or wait for him to the end, entirely oblivious to its master's and friend's demise? It was less that and more the thought of someone else, especially the Legion, using the stallion for their own ends that bothered him. Horses were valuable on a regular standard, even more in war. They'd probably try to beat the horse into submission until it was too broken to notice anymore, a thought that made him sick to his stomach. His one true friend deserved better than they would probably even _think _to give. It would just be another free resource to fuel their war, not a living, breathing _individual_.

He hadn't really spared the attention towards where they were going anymore, and when they stepped outside, the light was comparatively blinding, the whitette squinting against the glare of the morning sun. The stones were cool against his bare feet, but then so had the ones inside. He thought about making a break for it - up the stairs to the left side of the Dour, or straight towards the open doorway in the direction of the residential district, or right through the doorway past the fletcher and the other shops and toward the front gate - but he didn't bother. The thought of getting an arrow in his back - or a couple dozen - was far less appealing than having his head taken off with one well-placed swing.

The march down past the markets didn't go unnoticed as a good four soldiers escorted him toward the front gate, then just before it, off to the left. There he saw Tulius and a man with a black hood, and a stone block with a quarter-circle hole carved out of one side, stained in old blood. He was happy to see that the headsman was putting good use to that grindstone off to the side of the execution block. At least he wouldn't suffer long, if at all.

There was already a small crowd gathering as he stomped up the steps to meet the General, their eyes, both of them cold, meeting each other for a moment.

"You know, I would still very much like to hear of Marian Cross, and maybe then we can forget this whole business before things turn..." Tulius paused, his eyes momentarily lingering over that distasteful arm again. "...any uglier than they already are."

Allen considered just telling him honestly that the boy hadn't the slightest clue where Cross was, but somehow he doubted that Tulius would spare him even though it was the truth, and they were already going to put him to death, so really, what more could they do to him? Instead he smiled, with the same sickening amount of sweetness to it.

"When you elope, tell the Giants I said 'Congratulations'."

Tulius only sighed frustration, frowning unpleasantly. "If that's really how you want it..." he said in one last offer to reconsider, then continuing when it appeared that the cheeky adolescent was quite content with holding his silence. "Allen Walker, for the crimes of an uncountable number of thefts, assault, and murder across every Hold in Skyrim, as well as aiding and protecting a deserter and traitor to the Empire, you are sentenced to death," Tulius spoke clearly, making more of a show of it than he thought was strictly necessary.

Really, what did it matter? People came to see a decapitation, not listen to some old windbag rattle on and put everyone to sleep with his overdramatization.

Tulius opened his mouth to speak, but he paused as a distant sound bounced down off the cliffs, sounding strangely like some sort of beast's roar. Allen glanced up curiously, wondering if it had been a trick of the wind, but apparently he hadn't been the only person to notice it, his eyes watching the crowd as they glanced around them, a few whispering nervously.

It was just then, now that he was truly paying attention to who was watching, that he spied a plume of vivid red hair amongst the others gathered, knowing instantly who it was and a scowl forming on his face. It wasn't enough that the bastard had to betray him, after trying to win him over with that damn silver tongue of his? He had to come watch the guy get beheaded too? Maybe he would even enjoy it.

When the sound passed, Tulius disregarded it and continued speaking again.

"Do you have any last words or anything to say in your defense?"

Allen's eyes lingered on Lavi, who was still looking up towards the cliffs with far too much interest, as if he'd forgotten where he was and what was about to happen entirely. Allen wasn't sure which scenario to be more pissed off about; that Lavi had shown up to watch his execution, or that he had shown up and now looked as if he'd already lost interest. He waited until the man slowly turned back towards the spectacle, their eyes meeting for a brief flash, before he answered crisply and clearly.

"No."

"Very well, then." Tulius nodded to the guard standing behind Allen, who then forced him to his knees. He didn't need any more encouragement to stretch his head over the block, glad to have lost sight of all but the front row at his new angle, and even then, he attention was now on the headsman, standing over him. Even through the mask, he could see a certain sense of reluctance to be killing someone little older than a child, but he merely smiled at the man, unperturbed. If this was his fate, so be it.

Seeming to take that as his cue to make sure this ended as quickly and painlessly as possible, the hooded man rolled his shoulders in preparation and arched the ax back. Allen wasn't sure which would be better, to watch it come down or close his eyes and await it whenever it came. He settled on closing them. He wasn't sure he trusted himself not to move merely out of pure reflex otherwise.

He silently counted the seconds, expecting each one that followed it would be the last before everything would be over for the final time, but the strike never came. Instead it was a monstrous roar that rung through his head, almost making his eardrums feel as if they would burst, and he wondered if he was somehow already dead and his soul fled to Soverngarde.

He felt the ground rumble beneath him, heard and felt the gust of great wings above, and then something massive landing and rattling every nearby stone in its foundation, followed by collective gasps and screams of horror. He blinked his eyes open now, and found himself still alive and drawing breath, the headsman having retreated against the far wall of the small stage and staring straight up. Allen pushed himself upright on his knees and snapped his head up, his own silver hues growing wide as his mind failed to make sense of what he was seeing.

Only when someone finally shouted what it was did he even _begin _to believe he wasn't hallucinating.

"_DRAGON!_"


	16. Dragonsoul

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>It wasn't so much that Lavi <em>wanted <em>to go...

Well, he _did_, but he didn't, too.

His feelings on the matter... well... they didn't really _matter_. They weren't feelings he was supposed to have, anyway. That was the unfortunate downfall to being a member of his Clan, the Bookmen. His mentor expected him to be there and so that's where he went, regardless of if he wanted to or not, despite knowing that Allen would probably not be happy to see him.

So as the guards escorted Allen out to the execution block, he followed, his mentor at his side. The man was short - a midget, really - with a balding head of which the only hair that still resided was a tightly tied ponytail of gray, older than most people could ever even think of living. They weren't related, but he often nicknamed the old man "Gramps" and was still the closest thing he'd had throughout most of his life to family. Very grumpy, harsh, possibly a little bit dysfunctional family, but even so...

He was drawn out of his thoughts as Allen ascended the small stone stage where Tulius spoke to him. He couldn't hear what they were saying from such a distance towards the back, but it looked like whatever the white-haired lad had said was not taken too kindly by the old General. Then the man started listing off his crimes, rather generally, before declaring that he was to be executed.

That was when he heard it: the echo of some far off beast roaring from the cliffs elsewhere. It was not a sound he had heard before, searching his memory and coming up empty, but it sounded like something... _big_.

He wasn't the only one to notice, the crowd looking about with a sense of nervousness. He saw Kanda off to the side in the shadow of one of the buildings, the man glancing up with a slightly wider-eyed look of alertness before his brows furrowed suspiciously. Lavi was getting a very bad feeling, the hairs on the back of his neck tingling, and he couldn't help but turn to glance up the mountains just outside the city walls, thinking he might see something, but all it had left in its wake now was the whistling wind and white, snow-caked cliffs.

Even so, he trusted his instincts well, and an offhanded glance to the side told him that Kanda had yet to relax his guard either. When almost a minute went by where nothing of interest appeared, he finally turned his gaze ahead, briefly catching eyes with Allen as the man pointedly glared at him and _only _him, before being pushed down against the execution stone.

He could feel Bookman's eyes on him, scrutinizing, but he didn't allow any of his displeasure to leak through his expression or his single eye where the old man could detect it. He certainly didn't want to be here, watching someone like this unfortunate kid be put to death. Some people were criminals because they enjoyed making others suffer with little more reason to it than that, he knew such cruel beings existed, but then there were those who didn't so much enjoy their lifestyle as much as resigned themselves to it out of little other choice.

He knew - _truly _knew - that Allen fell into the latter category.

He'd overheard the boy talk of the old woman in Riften that secretly beat the children that ended up there, his story about how only bandits tolerated him and only because he won their favor with servitude, seen the faces of other the other people looking at the youth's arm with disgust, and heard Tulius talk of how he must be some Daedric or undead abomination to have such a limb. He was sure the guy would have chosen a different path if he'd thought for even a second that another one was available to him.

_Why does it even matter? He's about to die and you're still a Bookman. He's just one more poor sap meeting a premature end that history will soon enough forge-_

Another roar, almost directly overhead this time, made him forget what he was thinking instantly as he whirled around, a flying, armored beast swooping overhead and its tailwind almost knocking him and several others over. If his jaw were any more slack, it would have been unhinged, single green eye wide as the monster circled and came to land on one of the defense wall's towers.

"No way-"

He barely even dared to breathe, a quick exchange with the burning coals of its red eyes against a black form being more than enough to terrify. The living myth lazily surveyed the scene before it, not seeming to be in any big hurry to do anything except look down on the horrified crowd with what the redhead almost thought he could see was arrogant amusement, like a man looking down upon ants with full knowledge of how much more grand it was.

"_DRAGON!_" someone shouted, just before turning and bolting, their shoulder hitting his as they passed and kept going and jarring the Bookmen apprentice out of his shock just as the beast opened its maw, chest expanding with an audible inhalation, and then let out a concussive boom that knocked everyone in the path of its voice over.

Lavi could hardly believe it, the wind being knocked out of his lungs from little more than its roar, a _soundwave _of all things! His head spun and chest ached, and it took him a moment to fully comprehend that he was splayed out on the ground with the sky directly above him, his body not wanting to move. He watched the dragon swivel its head towards where Allen, Tulius, and the headsman were, before unleashing another boom of its voice that seemed to shake the very sky, which became an angry shade of swirling red, boulders seeming to fall out of nowhere from the sky above, raining down on the city.

He struggled to get to his feet, finally managing to suck in a few harsh gasps, and felt a firm hand on his arm that yanked him back to standing, glancing to the side at Kanda, just as the dragon spread its wings and ascended into the air once more.

"Move, idiot!"

Were the circumstances different, he might have spared a moment to be offended, but he only nodded complacently and was about to go dashing for cover, but a thought made him pause and he turned back for the block, much to Kanda's surprise. What few lingering people still milled around the street there turned and ran, forcing him to dodge or push past them to reach his intended target.

Allen was still somewhat dazed when he grabbed the male's arm and yanked him to his feet, but quickly recovering as Lavi pulled him along.

"I dunno if you're just lucky or the rest of us are that _un_lucky, but now's your second chance at survival!" Allen only stared at him in surprise, but neither of them had the time to sit and ponder what any of this meant.

"Oi!"

Lavi turned his attention ahead, just in time to jump back as a boulder exploded directly in front of him on the ground, the redhead spitting a curse and causing Allen to collide with his back, effectively annoying him.

"Watch it!"

"You watch it!" Lavi snapped back. "I'm the one currently saving your ass, because in case you haven't noticed, the _sky is basically falling!_" he directed upward with a sweep of his arm.

"Hey, idiots! Argue later!" Kanda snapped from the cover of the portico around the clothing shop next to the execution block. Lavi decided it'd probably be best if they took cover there too and dragged Allen over by the arm, following the edge of the building to the front of it. Allen, however, was looking over his shoulder at the front gates, and would have run for them already if not for the grip on his arm via the redhead.

Lavi and Kanda poked their heads out as the dragon soared overhead, roar echoing off the cliffs and every nearby building and wall, while large rocks continued to rain down from the sky. There was no portico covering the next shop, but the potion one across from them had a covering, and they dashed for that one, barely avoiding several boulders that seemed determined to crush them, leaping forward and landing on a pile of firewood that left Lavi groaning in pain at the newfound soreness in his side.

Kanda was already on his feet and glaring out at the flying beast as it circled around, hand itching over the handle of his sword.

"What's the plan, _rabbit_?"

Lavi glanced out from behind his shoulder and around the street. "Just- just gimme a second!" _Think, think!_

The dragon landed in the square ahead of them near the merchant stalls and snapped up a too-slow guard in its jaws, shaking them viciously before throwing them clear over the wall. Lavi couldn't help but wince at the clear mental image he got of the fall on the other side, since Solitude was located way up on a cliff. He stiffened as smoldering eyes turned on them and the dragon opened its jaws, shooting fire their way. He and Kanda both reacted instantly, turning and bolting around the corner of the building away from the flames.

"Rabbit!"

"Okay, okay! Um... there's..." He glanced off to the right of them where there was an open ledge of stone. "Okay, I got it! There's a grate up there, with a tunnel. It connects to the Dour's dungeon. If we climb inside-"

"No way!" Allen spat. "I am _not _going back into that place!"

"Why not?"

Allen gave Lavi a withering glare. "Why do _you _think, asshole? I just got out, I'm not going back in."

"He's fucking joking, right?" Kanda raised a brow, giving the boy a look that clearly showed he thought the kid must be completely dull-witted. Lavi, however, had already learned just how stubborn the brat could be, and he didn't doubt for a moment that Allen was serious.

"The sky is raining boulders and there's a dragon - a _DRAGON _- attacking the city, and you're going to throw a fit about the dungeon? That's probably the safest place to _be_ right now!" He yelped and hopped as Allen slammed a heel down on his foot, but he still didn't let go.

"Yeah, up until the chaos passes, and then its right back to the chopping block!"

Lavi took in a long breath and let it out in a growl. "Would you rather take your chances with _that_?" He pointed skyward as the dragon swooped overhead once more, plucking an archer off the wall like they were nothing and then taking them up through the sky before dropping them again.

"Yes, actually."

"Could you just- _grrr_!" He was almost half-tempted just to throw the cheeky little bastard back out there. Here he was trying to _help _the little ingrate and he honestly-!

Lavi froze at the sound of an audible _crash_ and splintering of a wood roof, seeing rows of roof shingles cascade off the top of the Winking Skeever inn just beside them and his single eye traveled up to the massive head of the black dragon peering down at them, almost seeming to _mock_ them with a snarl that sounded strangely akin to a laugh, before it parted its jaws to unleash a barrage of flame.

"_RUN!_" Lavi screeched, even faster to move than Kanda as his adrenaline spiked. Allen sputtered some kind of protest, but Lavi utterly ignored him, sprinting along the length of the portico in front of the potion shop and up the winding ramp towards the Dour, only to skid to a halt where the path doubled over itself as he saw the dragon pounce and claw its way atop the roof to cut them off near the top. "Okay, _not _this way!"

He turned tail and leapt down the ledge back into the square, hearing the dragon roar behind them and feeling Allen stumble, almost sending them both crashing to the ground, but luckily they both managed to keep on their feet. He hesitated before the houses, not seeing anywhere that they could take shelter from either the falling rocks or the dragon beyond the archway separating the shop and residential districts.

He didn't get more than a few seconds to ponder it as he felt the ground shake with the force of the dragon landing behind them, whirling around. His head darted to either side and he immediately lunged for the gate through the tunnel structure of the archway bridge and windmill, all three of them disappearing inside just as the flames streamed through where they just stood.

Lavi took a second to pant, once, twice, then scrambled to his feet, pulling on both Allen's and Kanda's arms.

"Okay, come on! We gotta keep goin'!" Neither needed much motivation at this point, both looking annoyed and at least _slightly _intimidated. Lavi charged ahead at the front, glancing between the path going down and the one going up. Down was only going to be the last resort though. He was worried about the others still in the city and making sure they were alright as well first. "Okay, if we go up an' across the bridge when the dragon is distracted by somethin' else, then reach the tower on the other side, we should be out of the way of danger, at least for the time bein'."

"Are you _nuts_?" Kanda didn't look like he needed an answer, even though it was his own question.

"Okay, look," Lavi halted them. "We go to the top of the stairs, hide in the doorway, and look out and wait for our chance. The dragon might not even know we're up there. We'll wait 'til its looking somewhere else then run like crazy. Its a lot better than being out in the open on the ground."

Kanda huffed irritation and Allen looked ready to bolt for the stairs heading down and out of Solitude. For whatever reason, Lavi had a feeling he couldn't describe that told him it was better to keep the white-haired lad close, despite that letting him run off to Divines only knew where seemed like it'd probably be much, _much _easier.

Just when Allen started to move to bolt, he grabbed the young man by his arm and started to ascend the stairs, despite snarls of protest.

"Let me go, damn it!"

"No, just stick close to us."

"I said let me go, _traitor_!" Allen snarled. He noticed the way that Lavi hesitated a moment. Kanda noticed it too. After another beat, the redhead shook it off. Whatever Allen's personal feelings were, they could talk about it later. Things were far too chaotic to even _think _about it right now.

"Pipe down, unless you want the dragon to hear and eat us or something," Lavi barked in a low voice, not relenting and taking along a far beyond reluctant Allen in tow. Once they reached the top, he carefully shuffled through the open doorway and peered out, not seeing the dragon immediately. Peering out further, he finally spotted it to the far right, swooping over the residential district and ripping into houses.

"Okay, get ready, because we're gonna do this quick, hopefully before it notices us. Then we go to the lower levels of the tower and across the yard to the Dour. That'll be the safest place."

_And hopefully where everyone else'll be already, nice and safe. _Maybe it was the more cowardly thing to do, but he'd already seen how effective the guards were and self-preservation was one of his stronger instincts over bravery when it came to danger. He glanced back at his two companions - Kanda, who nodded, and Allen who looked like he was calculating an entirely different kind of escape to safety - before he ran out across the bridge, Allen having little choice at the moment but to follow.

Lavi glanced to the side and lamented that they were noticed, the dragon whipping its head up and snarling as it took to the sky once more. He didn't bother speaking to either of his companions, focusing on running and reaching the door. He expected to just burst through, but much to his dismay, the damn doors were _locked_.

"Oh, son of a-!" he swore. "It's locked! Yuu, help me!" he barked, ramming his side against it. Kanda swore and joined him, both silently gauging when the other would move and ramming it with their bodies at the same time, feeling the door budge but not break. Allen watched them and took several steps back, then whirled to go the other way, but too late, the dragon was already upon them, landing on the other end of the bridge and barring their way.

"Oh bloody Oblivion..." he breathed, backing up. He heard Lavi swear again as they rammed the door, but it simply _wouldn't move_!

The dragon almost seemed to laugh as it clawed forward in a low prowl, savoring the helplessness of its prey, before opening gaping jaws and lunging forward to grab the shortest white-haired male. Allen's eyes widened and opened his mouth to yell, but some foreign instinct, like someone _else _had suddenly taken over his body in his place, alighted and what came out was something both unknown to him yet strangely familiar somehow, a shockwave wall of sound like thunder itself staggering the dragon and stunning it for a moment.

"**_FUS!_**"

Both Lavi and Kanda froze for a moment in shock, their eyes wide.

_What in the-_

The dragon snarled and shook its head to clear away its shock, jaws frothing and its whole form bristling madly, a far more _personal _gleam now entering its red-hot eyes. As if things couldn't get any stranger than they already were, the dragon towered up above them on its wings, roaring challenge to the sky and _speaking _something that Lavi clearly understood.

"_**DOVAHKIIN!**_"


	17. Revelation

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Dovahkiin? As in... <em>the <em>Dovahkiin? The legendary _Dragonborn_? A Man with the soul of a dragon, destined from birth to _slay _dragons? And Allen was-?

Ooooh, how Lavi's head spun with disbelief.

"_Rabbit!_" And thank the Divines for Kanda, who either didn't realize the significance of what the dragon said or didn't care, both of which were quite possible.

He turned his attention back to the door. This _wasn't _working, and the sides of the bridge were far, _far _too steep to jump down, unless they truly just wanted to die that way rather than at the jaws of the beast.

He summoned fire into his palm and blasted the door with it, pouring as much heat into his flames as he could, before he readied to ram it again.

"Try now!" he told Kanda, the ravenette following his motion.

Finally - _FINALLY _- the door broke open and they rushed in, grabbing Allen just as the dragon advanced on them with a vengeance, opening its jaws to blast them again. Lavi slammed the doors shut and kept going. Really, they served no defense whatsoever, and the dragon easily butted the doors open with its skull, trying to snap them into its jaws, but the corridor was too narrow.

Screaming rage, the dragon unleashed a barrage of flame into the room, the trio throwing themselves to the side and only barely managing to keep from being scorched alive. Even so, some of the flames still managed to reach and burn. When it stopped, Lavi almost moved to leave the corner they had piled against, but another sea of flame rushed in and made him duck back, trying to flatten himself as far away from the flames as possible.

Not hearing the screams of agony it had wanted, the dragon howled rage and withdrew from the opening, its wings beating outside and taking flight, before the entire structure rumbled with its weight as it landed on the very top of the tower.

"Alright, go, go!" Lavi urged, keeping his voice at a whisper and they scrambled for the door on the other side of the room, which was luckily reduced to ashes. Another boom signaled the dragon trying to break in, but they ignored it. Their path took them into a hallway to their left, with open window panes overlooking a small throne room, then down a flight of stairs to their right, and then the front door at the end of the throne room.

"All accounted for?" Lavi panted, glancing back at his companions.

Luckily Allen was following of his own accord now, but he was maneuvering his wrists in the ropes and snagging them with his claws, making very easy, short work of them and looking relieved to finally have them off, and yet all the same, as if this was nothing new to be overly proud of.

"Once we're outside, the run from here to the Dour is very short, but we need to make every second count." He saw the look in Allen's eyes, then tensed as he felt the entire tower rattle once more and glanced up nervously. "And you-! you're sticking close to us, got it?"

"And why should I not just bolt out of the city as soon as we're outside?" Allen deadpanned, entirely serious.

"Did you _not _here what that monster up there said?" Lavi gaped. "_Dovahkiin_. Dragonborn! And you did that-... that-... _thing _with your voice! You're that thing's ultimate enemy. It isn't going to simply overlook you knowing that!" He was still having trouble wrapping his own mind around it, but obviously the dragon didn't, and it was obviously fully intent on catching and killing him now.

"All the more reason not to stay here," Allen pointed out. "If it's after me, it'll leave the city to give chase."

"Are you utterly insane?! You have no armor, no weapons, and you're on foot. You'll be dead in an instant!"

"And why do you care?" Allen spat, narrowing his eyes. "You didn't seem to have any problem selling me out to the Legion and letting them _behead _me, why should a dragon be any different?"

"I didn't-!" Lavi jumped as the ceiling exploded and rained down rocks, grabbing Allen by the arm and shoving the door open. "You know what? We don't have time for this! Just move your ass before _all _of us end up dead!"

Oh, how nice it would have been if Allen were _actually_ that cooperative.

Unfortunately for all three of them, he wasn't, struggling like a man possessed and making it _very _difficult to keep moving, much less while still holding onto the other male. The dragon screeched its fury and Lavi almost truly let the raging idiot go, but for whatever reason, he held on, yanking Allen back until they were through the door, which Kanda took the liberty of slamming behind them this time.

"Damn it all! If you don't stop fighting, I'm going to knock your ass unconscious!" Lavi finally screamed in frustration. Honestly, did he have to choose _now _to be this fucking difficult?!

"Try it and I'll-"

"Hey dumbasses!" Kanda interrupted. "Unless you want to find out what it feels like to be burned alive, I suggest you move it!" As if on cue, the door was bashed against and almost swung open, motivating all three of them to duck down into the guards barracks where the weapons and armor were stored, and where hopefully the dragon wouldn't _ever _be able to reach them.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs and rounding the corners, there was a feminine gasp just before both Lavi and Kanda were pounced on and pulled into a hug.

"You're both alright!"

"Lenalee..."

"_Che_."

"You both made it," Tulius acknowledged. "Good."

"I see the great Legion General took it upon himself to hide like a rat," Allen snarked, earning a dirty glare from Lavi.

"Will you knock it off already?"

"Junior!" Lavi's head snapped up at attention, his eye briefly surveying the room and taking note of the wounded that had managed to escape with their lives in tact, but not necessarily ever part of their bodies.

"Yes?"

"Tend to the wounded. I assume you still know how."

Lavi drew in a long breath. Easier said than done with he didn't have much to work with or herbs he could gather from the shop or outside, but he was already sure Tulius knew they didn't have such luxury.

"I'll see what I can do," he answered finally, gently prying Lenalee's arms off of him and moving to take a look at the injuries of those hiding within the Dour. Tulius nodded to one of his men and muttered something about gathering what herbs they could from around the castle in the meantime. The muffled sounds of the roaring dragon above and occasionally rattling the stone of the structure made everyone tense, but the beast thankfully didn't manage to break through and find them.

Allen would have taken the chance to flee if it wasn't for Kanda watching him _very _closely, standing between him and the door. Instead he took up a seat near the stone oven. Might as well make himself comfortable and enjoy the food they had on-hand if he was going to be forced to stay here anyway.

"A dragon... burning up _my _city!" Tulius growled, mostly to himself. "Those back in the Capitol will hardly believe it even _if _we survive to pass on the message."

"Yes, it is quite odd," a weathered voice answered. Lavi felt his chest swell with relief as he glanced up towards the stairwell from where he was treating one man's burns.

"Gramps! You made it!"

"Of course I made it, you redheaded fool!" Bookman snapped, before quieting down, grumbling annoyances at his apprentice. "The timing could not be stranger." His discerning eyes turned and focused on Allen, who stiffened under his gaze and made it a point to tuck his arm further against his side, missing his fur cloak now more than ever. It had been very much effective in hiding his appendage and he'd almost grown somewhat attached to the stretch of fur.

"Yeah, about that..." Lavi hummed, still working on injuries and grateful for the assistance that Lenalee offered him in treating the wounded. "I don't think the dragon is here on pure coincidence." He could sense Bookman rolling his eyes as if the redhead was stating the purely obvious, but Tulius seemed interested to hear him out.

"Oh? And what makes you say that?"

"Well..." Lavi glanced up. "That kid over there-" The use of the word _kid _was very deliberate, in this case. "-that you were going to have publicly executed just might happen to be Dragonborn."

"Are you joking?"

Lavi couldn't help but roll his eyes as well now, once again deferring back to his commonplace theory that people were quite lacking in intelligence.

"Yeah, I was totally joking, that's why I said it. Of _course _I wasn't joking!" At least his sarcasm seemed to amuse Allen, if no one else, probably only because it was Tulius that it was directed at. "He did this... shouting thing, like nothing I've ever seen before, and afterwards the dragon got really angry and roared _Dovahkiin _at us and started trying to-" He paused and flinched as the ceiling rattled violently, holding his breath to see if it might collapse, but it held for now. "And then it started trying to kill _us _specifically."

"That's preposterous!"

"Yeah, about as preposterous as a dragon," Allen said cheekily, grinning as he propped his chin on palm, slowly chewing a piece of seared slaughterfish. "And you almost had me killed. I'm not sure which your ancestors up in Aetherius must be doing more, laughing at you or shaking their heads in disappointment."

"Did you know about this?" Tulius looked like he almost would have gaped, if he had been a less prideful man. Allen shrugged.

"It's news to me," he said, before popping another bit of slaughterfish into his mouth shamelessly.

"How do we know that he's Dragonborn? As far as I'm aware, that traitorous Ulfric _Stormcloak_ isn't, yet he's able to use Shouts as well."

"It is possible for those who aren't to learn the Shouts of the dragons, if they take up the tutelage of the Greybeards for many years," Bookman pondered. "However, it is no easy task. I doubt that a child would be able to pull it off easily, even _with _training. Many are known to have tried and even after a decade or more, been unable to do it. Ulfric is an exceptional case in regards to ability to use the skill."

Tulius hummed thoughtfully. "Still... that doesn't guarantee that he is indeed Dragonborn."

"Look, what he is or isn't doesn't really matter," Lavi pointed out, indicating towards the door. "Regardless, that dragon _thinks_ that's what he is, and I don't think its going to stop until its killed him."

"So let me go out there," Allen shrugged, nonchalant as the day Lavi first met him. Before the redhead could get a word in, Tulius beat him to it.

"No, I don't think that's such a good idea." This wasn't what he had expected, and obviously it wasn't what Allen expected either. "I'm not a big believer in many old Nordic legends and superstition, but I've never been a big believer in dragons either. On the off-chance that you are truly the Dragonborn, you might be our only real defense against them."

Bookman nodded his agreement. "It's said in old texts that the Dragonborn and Alduin, the black dragon also known as the _`World-Eater`_, return to Skyrim together, and that he can only be defeated by the Dragonborn. Dying now would be very problematic. It would not stop at only him."

So this wasn't just _any _dragon? This was _Alduin _himself? Well wasn't _that _just the cherry on top.

"Yes, I've heard the tales," Tulius grumped impatiently. "Unfortunately, it won't matter if the dragon refuses to leave the city without getting what it came for, and the only ways out of the city will require going past the dragon, and we can't risk the Dragonborn being killed."

"Hey, asshole, I _do _have a name," Allen growled. "Try using it." If Tulius heard, he blatantly ignored it.

Lavi pondered for a moment, still checking over wounds and trying to treat them best as was possible, before he thought of something.

"So give it a false bone to chew on," he suggested. Tulius pondered this for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes, I think you're right."

Allen's eyes darted between them, something akin to horror slowly etching his features as it clicked just what they meant. "What? No. _No!_ Have you gone completely mad?! You're not sending someone out there to get killed in my place! No way! That's a suicide mission!"

"Why does it even matter? People have already died because of you and your bandit friends."

"But that's different!" Allen snarled, leaping to his feet. "That was survival and they weren't throwing their lives out for _me!_"

"It's really not any different at all," Lavi countered. "People died. Period. The reasons don't really matter in the long run. And _survival _my butt! It's not like you were defending yourself, that was an ambush that ended in the death of several soldiers! You don't get to simply pick and choose when and where killing is acceptable. It either is or it isn't."

Allen made a noise akin to a growl, glaring and lips twitching like he wanted to argue, but couldn't come up with anything suitable enough to counteract the redhead's points. Satisfied to have managed to keep Allen silent and having enough sense not to look pleased, he glanced at Tulius now.

"So who's the unlucky bastard?"

Tulius didn't immediately respond, his eyes scanning the room, and addressing it as a whole rather than any one specific person.

"Well? You've all heard what the circumstances are and what's at stake. Any volunteers?" Tense silence descended the room as people looked about, trying to judge if someone else would. Finally one of the wounded soldiers spoke up, smiling pain as they forced themselves to their feet.

"If it's for the sake of protecting Skyrim, then I would be honored, sir. That dragon already got me good, but I can still run and fight a little if I have to."

"You're a brave man, soldier," Tulius acknowledged.

A quick glance to the side easily told Lavi that Allen was horrified this was even taking place, and the white-haired male tried to dart to the stairs before this could continue, but Kanda was fast and grabbed him by the wrist. Lavi noted that he was careful to grab the left wrist and spare himself the wrath of the boy's claws, otherwise safe to ignore the spitting and cursing of the angry teen.

"Junior, make sure this man is fit to run. Do whatever else you think is necessary to prepare him," Tulius ordered.

Lavi merely nodded and stood to tend to the man's wounds as best he could, feeling Allen's eyes smoldering on his back, but ignored it. He did a hasty but suitable patch-job on the man's wounds and had him change into similar clothes as Allen's, having another man search for something white that could pass for hair, at least from a distance, to create a makeshift wig.

"Y'know you can still choose to back out now if you're not up to it," Lavi pointed out quietly as he was making his last touches on his concocted costume. Hopefully the dragon wouldn't notice anything strange and be on its way afterwards. There was something like gratitude in the man's eyes for the offered words, but even stronger was resolve.

"I don't know that I would have survived my wounds anyway," he hummed. "Besides, I never did settle down. Better me than one of these other men with kids and wives to worry about leaving behind."

Lavi nodded understanding and didn't press the issue, instead focusing on his task and hoping he had done a satisfactory enough job. When they re-entered, Tulius looked somber but pleased, nodding his approval.

"I've sent another man out along the wall to fetch a horse for you and wait near the gate. Take it and ride hard, and make sure you get that monster's attention when you do. That ought to keep it busy for a while."

"Yes, sir," the soldier nodded, disappearing up the steps in a slightly unsteady jog.

Tulius sighed wearily. "Let's hope that that will be enough. When it gets quiet, we'll see if the dragon has gone or not."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **For those curious, no, the dragon isn't Tyki and Alduin is going to sort-of be the Earl's equivalent in this world X3 Since the Earl's "true" name is supposed to be Adam, but that's not very Skyrim-y lol

The other Dragon!Noah's are going to likely have some alternate names as well, but I'll mention which ones are which Noah's if I do that.


	18. Imprisonment or Dragonslaying

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Allen was absolutely seething off to the side of the room, but there was little to be done for it. The only reason it wasn't directed at Tulius and instead on Lavi was that the redhead had been the one to plant the idea in the General's head.<p>

...okay, maybe it wasn't the _only _reason. There were a lot of reasons at this point, piling higher than his dishes after a good, full meal, with his larger-than-average appetite.

What right did they have to choose that someone else would have to die in his place?! He didn't ask for it, and he _certainly _as Oblivion didn't approve!

Unfortunately, it seemed to work. The sounds above quieted down, and soon enough, they had confirmation that the dragon had left in pursuit of the man disguised as him. There was no telling how far it would go or if it would truly leave after it caught and killed said man, but everyone was letting out a sigh of relief none the less. All except for him, who felt like an angry bee in a jar with nothing to sting.

"Now then," Tulius began, not allowing the peace to fully settle. "If such claims about Dragonborn are true, then I can think of one place where it might be confirmed."

"The Greybeards," Bookman stated more than questioned to confirm. Tulius nodded.

"Is it wise to send him out there?" Lavi couldn't help but point out, feeling the glare that the white-haired male was giving him intensify. "The Throat of the World is a long ways off."

"Oh, I won't be sending him alone, I can assure you. I'll be assigning-"

"I'll go," Kanda stated abruptly, with such startlingly cold nonchalance that it would have shocked Lavi if he didn't know that there had to be a reason behind it. Yuu Kanda did not _volunteer _for anything, much less what basically equated to babysitting, unless there was a good reason, even if he played off casual indifference perfectly. "You'll need someone to keep the brat in line."

Tulius was silent in shock for a moment, before he merely nodded, looking at a loss of how to explain the younger man's willingness to participate.

"Al-right..." he hummed, before looking about, coming out of his surprise. He was about to speak, but he was interrupted again, this time by Bookman.

"I think it would be wise as well if my apprentice were to participate in this expedition as well. This is quite historically significant, after all, and his skills would be quite useful. In the meantime, I will monitor the happenings going on here and offer what aid I can."

"Um, excuse me, but did anyone ever bother to ask how _I _feel about this?" Allen piped up tersely.

"Well whether you like it or not, seems like you just happen to be the Dragonborn, the only solid defense Tamriel has against the dragons," Lavi pointed out neutrally. "And if you were to die with the dragons still around, so would all of Nirn, if the legends hold any merit." And so far, he had been given no reason to doubt them, though it may have been a very superficial analysis. Until they learned otherwise, they would simply have to trust that the legends bore some truth to them and act accordingly.

"And I already have a war to contend with, without adding _dragons _to the mix as well," Tulius stated. "Staying in the city is too dangerous, but letting you to your own devices unwatched isn't an option either. You _are _still a highly wanted criminal." The man paused, before beginning slowly to add, "Per-haps... if you were to successfully deal with the dragons, however, then I'm sure I could manage to wipe your charges away in all Holds, once we win the war. Give you a new slate to start over from."

"Are you bribing me?" Allen snorted. "You tried beheading me all of a couple of hours ago, and now you think you can _bribe_ me? Especially after you just told me you _'can't risk letting me die'_?"

"Well perhaps you aren't the Dragonborn and its all nothing but Nord nonsense," Tulius countered. "The headsmans ax is still an option."

"Do it, then," Allen returned levelly, not even pretending like he might have been fooled for a second. He was young, but as Lavi had already figured, he was smart. Used to maneuvering a situation to his liking. If he was really to accompany the male to the home of the Greybeards, assuming Allen would even agree to go there, he would have to watch his back. Especially being that Allen liked him least of anyone here.

The boy had easily called the bluff and they all knew it, Tulius angrily crossing his arms.

"It is an option, but so is life imprisonment, until you agree to cooperate."

"Fine, then. I'll do it," Allen agreed, but Lavi was hard-pressed to believe it until he saw it. It was an easy agreement to make if one only planned on fleeing at the first chance once they were away from the city. "But first, I want back my gear and my horse. If even one thing isn't returned, I won't do it."

"So long as you keep your end, you have yourself a deal. Kanda can show you where your items are being held, and I'll send someone to fetch the horse we confiscated from you."

Allen nodded and pushed himself up, following the raven-haired man who pushed off the wall and led the way up the stairs without a word, glad to finally be out of the room and _especially _away from Lavi.

Their path took them across the entrance hall and down another flight of stairs on the opposite side, then through a door into the dungeon, which he was fairly familiar with already. They passed by a room for the guards, a stone fireplace, the torture room, and then finally passed through the fourth door just before the stairs heading down to the cells on the story below, and into an isolated room lined in weapons and armor either belonging to the guards or taken from prisoners.

Kanda stopped and leaned against the doorway they entered from, guarding against escape and nodding to a chest on a table halfway across the room against the wall.

"Your gear is in there."

Allen walked across to it briskly and popped the chest open, finding his usual clothing, light armor, and cloak, as well as his bag of gold coins, a couple of minor healing potions, a good collection of lockpicks, pieces of leather, and various other odds and ends.

Luckily he didn't have to ask for Kanda to look elsewhere as he changed, the man's eyes closed in disinterest, and he was more than happy to finally be rid of the rough, scratchy burlap prisoner garbs in favor of his more comfortable articles. Especially relieving was having his fur cloak back where he could hide his left arm from view.

Feeling a little more secure overall and his nerves settling somewhat, he glanced over at Kanda, who had yet to move or open his eyes. He thought of trying to use the moment to possibly sneak away, either by the doorway or through the hole in the wall near the chest, albeit small, but he thought better of it. He still had Timcanpy to retrieve and didn't actually know where they'd placed his horse.

"I didn't really take you as the type to volunteer keeping charge of me," he noted after a moment, Kanda's cobalt eyes flickering half-open and sliding towards him. "Judging by the face of your companions, I guess they didn't either. So what was your reason?"

"None of your damn business," Kanda gruffed, pushing off the wall impatiently. "Are you done?"

Allen nodded and Kanda turned without another word, leading the way back up. "Good. And Divines save you if you try to bolt." It was the only warning he was going to get and Allen couldn't help but smile. Was that a personal challenge or an empty threat? After their first encounter, it was difficult to say. Maybe he'd test it out himself later, but first thing's first, he needed to find out what became of his horse.

Being outside and not having to run for their lives now gave Allen a much better idea of how much damage the dragon had done. The thick tower they had been in earlier was collapsed inward on itself and left a pile of rubble in front of where the door they had escaped out of used to be, barricading it. A spire tower behind the Dour had been broken and fallen onto the wall, which he saw as they passed underneath the doorway to the immediate right.

Beyond that, the portico roof of the fletcher had burned and collapsed, and the two buildings near the front gates, the Winking Skeever and potion store, had their roofs damaged and caved slightly in from the weight of the monster that had perched upon them, and many of the shingles had come off or loose.

Market stalls were turned over and smashed, and beyond the underside of the bridge, Allen could see one of the houses in the residential district on-fire and burning to the ground, citizens and guards helpless to do anything but watch and make sure id didn't spread.

For a moment, he felt a flash of guilt. If the others were right in what he was supposed to be, then he should have been out here on the street doing something to put a stop to the dragon's rampage, not fleeing for an escape from the city without care for those inside that were losing their lives. The fact that, once he knew he _could _somehow put a stop to it, and others had barred his way, only made the revelation that much worse.

The corpses of a few guards and soldiers scattered the street, and he felt a flash of guilt for them too. Then he recalled Lavi's earlier words - _dead is dead. The reason doesn't matter _- and felt guilt melt into anger, both at the dragon but also someone else, and he truly wasn't sure if it was at himself or the redhead in that moment.

Reaching the front gates and stepping just outside, he forgot about all of it for a moment as he spied his pale gold horse and perked, bolting past Kanda to greet his equine friend.

"Timcanpy!"

The horse tossed its head excitedly upon seeing him and trotted forward, briefly knocking the small teen up into the air on the flat length of its head as the boy hugged it around the head and the animal nosed him affectionately, whickering softly in delight. For a moment he just stood like that with Tim blowing against him for a long few moments before finally separating, glancing about. A handful of bay drafts belonging to the legion also stood, and just now he and Kanda noticed the girl he had seen before approach.

"You're coming?" Kanda questioned when the girl went about packing a saddlebag on one of the horses.

"If my brother catches wind of there having been a dragon attack here and doesn't see that I'm safe, he's going to flip his lid," she answered, looking slightly exasperated, but all the same, overly fond as she mentioned her sibling. "Besides, he might be able to help us out. I know Markarth is a bit out-of-the-way, but..." She trailed off helplessly, and Kanda only blew out a long, slow breath.

Allen glanced towards the gates and noticed that Lavi had yet to join them, but he was close by, just out of ear-shot where the old man from before was speaking to him in secret. Allen tried to figure out what they might be discussing by their expressions, but the old man simply looked stern and Lavi impassive, his expression closed-off and impossible to read. He tried to read their lips instead, but that proved just as difficult, not only because of the distance but because they didn't move their mouths much when they spoke.

All he could discern were a couple of nods before Lavi finally turned away and headed towards them, his movements slightly stiff and very business-like, his expression impassible as stone.

"Everyone ready to head out?" The redhead bore a smile, but it was forced and sickeningly cold to Allen's eyes. If the other two noticed, they said nothing and showed no indication of it.

Kanda merely nodded in silence.

Lenalee answered with a chipper, "Yep! Whenever everyone else is."

"Let's just get this over with," Allen heaved, climbing onto Timcanpy's back. The thought of running was still in his head, but curiosity and a certain sense of obligation held him back from actually doing so. Either way, this was likely to be a long and very unenjoyable trip.


	19. Journey's Start

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Riding out at mid-afternoon wasn't terribly bad. The sun was high and cast a somewhat comfortable warmth against the otherwise frigid air of the northernmost province. Just outside the city, a caraven of Khajiit traders - the feline-people from the far southern deserts of Elswyer - advertised their wares from just beyond the outer gates. Allen offered them a polite smile but had no interest in purchases at the moment, so he continued on with the other three, two of which were assigned to keep tabs on him.<p>

For the moment, he would at least pretend to cooperate as he tried to figure them out as well as what he wanted to do from here. As Lavi had so tactfully pointed out before, the Throat of the World - the largest mountain in all of Skyrim - was a long way off. It was a lot of distance for something to go wrong, more for his companions than him.

The silence lasted all of the time it took to pass Katla's farm on the main road before it was broken by the girl whose name Allen had neglected to catch, long hair tied back and eyes baring a sense of gentle naiveté that would probably do them poorly out in the open wilds.

"So, um... your name is Allen, correct?"

He nodded neutrally. At the very least, it gave him someone to focus on other than that damned redhead that had sold him out. "And you, m'lady?"

"Lenalee," she offered up, giving him a smile that was both curious and cautious. He was certain that she had caught sight of his arm already and that was likely the cause for her wariness. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Allen returned cordially, focusing his eyes forward.

Lenalee hummed, observing him for a moment. It made him uncomfortable, but he tried not to let it show. "You're... Nord, right? Have you always been in Skyrim?"

"Yes and no," Allen hummed. "I've been to a few different provinces, but most of that time was spent in Skyrim or Cyrodiil. As far as I know, I was born here."

Lenalee's brows furrowed. "As far as you know?"

"I was left without parents. First place I remember is the orphanage in Riften."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lenalee empathized sincerely. Allen merely shrugged. His circumstances were what they were.

"And what of you?" Allen prompted now.

"I think we might have lived in Morrowind once, but I was too young to remember it. Kanda and I both grew up in Cheydinhal near Cyrodiil's eastern border."

Allen glanced between them. It was easy enough to tell they were both Imperial in heritage. "Are you two related?"

Kanda scoffed while Lenalee chuckled. "No, not at all."

"So how did you end up here?"

"We-ll..." Lenalee hummed. "I know Kanda joined the Legion, so when the Civil War up here started, that's where he was sent. My older brother in Markarth studies and invents different technologies, and he's especially fond of old Dwarven ruins and their machines. Since our parents are no longer alive, he brought me with him, and he and I help the Legion sometimes with the things he builds and crafts."

So Lenalee lost her parents as well, albeit for likely wholly different reasons than he had. At least she had a brother to rely on, though. She seemed far too nice to be left alone in the world.

"So what about you and Lavi?" she asked, causing the white-haired youth to go from neutral to annoyed. Why did they have to talk about _him_, of all people?

"Nothing much to tell. I agreed to escort him back to Solitude if he paid me. Sadly enough..." he paused to glare over his shoulder at the redhead. "Only one of us was a man of his word. You already know the rest." He turned back around in his saddle and saw a troubled look in Lenalee's eyes, the girl opening her mouth - clearly, to defend her friend's credibility - but he really had no desire to hear it, speaking ahead of her with a voice sharply edged. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. As Fates would have it, it isn't my day to die after all, since as it turns out I'm too valuable to simply execute. I'm certainly not complaining."

They went around a farmer walking the opposite way on the road, horses single-file for a brief minute or so before fanning out slightly more. Just as they reached a fork in the road marked by directional signs on a post, the horses startled, sidling nervously. There was a loud _BO-OM _like the peel of thunder, and then the earth quaked for all of a moment. Carried on the near-cloudless sky sounded were many unified voices, echoing words that they had all recently familiarized themselves with.

"_**DOV-AH-KIIN!**_"

"What in Oblivion was that?" Allen rasped, his eyes scanning the sky, wondering if such had been a dragon and they were about to come under attack again.

"That... would be the Greybeards," Lavi hummed, his eye scanning the land to their far left. "Seems the dragons and the townspeople of Solitude weren't the only ones to notice you."

Allen huffed as he glared over at Lavi, wishing that _anyone else _might have spoken, but there was nothing to be done for it. "From all that distance?"

"You felt the earth rattle and heard their voices, didn't you?" the redhead pointed out. "It's not so far-fetched to assume it goes both ways. Sound travels pretty far."

Allen merely hummed as they nudged their horses onward. The rest of their travel was filled primarily with small-talk as the evening wore on and the sky turned orange and pink with the sunset. The entire land and sky was bathed in fiery light when they reached the town of Dragon's Bridge and they were left with two options; to stop for the night in Four Shields Tavern or continue marching on through the night.

Lavi and Kanda thought it better not to risk traveling by night if they could help it. It wasn't so much beasts or bandits they were worried about so much as they were of Allen using the cover of darkness to evade them and slip away to Divines only knew where, and after everything that had happened earlier with the dragon, a good night's rest and some food would do everyone a bit more good than harm.

Besides that, there was another problem they had to confront.

"Markarth is pretty damn out of the way of where we need to go," Kanda gruffed, his eyes momentarily hovering over Lenalee. "It'll end up tripling the time it'll take us to reach Whiterun. The road takes us all the way around the whole damn region before opening up anywhere that we could travel through to reach the city."

"Guys, you don't have to take me the entire way," Lenalee offered tentatively. "I could always just go by my-"

"No way," both ravenette and redhead answered in unison.

"No offense, Lenalee, but the Reach is dangerous territory. And being an Imperial woman walking the road unguarded and alone? That's just _asking _to be attacked by Forsworn. I wouldn't even travel through there on my own if I could help it, and being a Breton, I could easily pass for one of them in appearance if I needed to."

"The rabbit is right. Besides, if anything happened, that lunatic would never let us hear the end of it," Kanda added, crossing his arms and looking more bored than anything.

"On the other hand, taking the main roads means bandits," Lavi heaved a sign, swigging down a few sips of warm cider.

"Robber's Gorge? They'll just make us pay a toll to go through."

"Yes but we _do _have to afford to eat," Lavi pointed out. "And we don't know when the next time we'll see money that isn't already in our pockets will be. We can't just go giving handouts to every vagabond out on the road."

"Then we'll just cross the river to bypass them and travel the other side of it."

"Have you seen the current of that river?" Lavi raised a brow. "We'd be lucky to make it without being swept over the falls at the end and into the bay."

_Now wouldn't that be unfortunate? _Allen silently quipped, content to eat silently on the sidelines and let them argue about it.

" 'sides, the other side of the river is crawling with sabres, bears, and I've even heard Falmer. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not become a snack for some pet Chorus' pinschers."

It gave Allen a nice mental image to entertain though.

"Then what do you suggest?"

Lavi hummed, closing his only eye as he tried to remember and visualize a map of nearby locations. "Well if we take the north bank and follow the river southwest through the wilds, I think Karthwasten is just over the hills. So long as we're careful, we should be able to avoid any conflict with Forsworn that might be in the area. We'll have to watch out for beasts, but it'll be the fastest way. Then we'll simply take the main road past Kolskeggr Mine. That should take us straight to the city with little problem."

"_Che_."

They ordered rooms for the night and slept until just before the early dawn, setting out as the sun just barely began to kiss the eastern sky with a lighter grey hue. Rather than cross the great stone bridge the town was named for, they passed the mill and crossed the narrow channel of river just before the falls where it was shallow and into the brush lands of the rocky Reach territory, flanking the river gorge to their left.

Clouds overtook the sky and it began to rain not long after they left civilization behind them, but there was little to be done for it except to press onward and hope to reach shelter quickly enough, or that the rain would pass after only a sprinkle. Firs and small juniper trees dotted the landscape, and interrupting the steady hum of grasshoppers were a pair of wolf howls ahead, making them pause.

Ideally, they could go around, but it was uncertain if such luck would be the case. The appearance of a bear from the river looked to be a stroke of even worse luck until it and the nearby wolves got into a territorial dispute, giving them the opportunity to swing wide around the wild beasts to further on ahead.

The sound of more wolves further on led them a bit further away from the river to avoid them, the wild dogs snapping their fangs in warning, ready to defend their den just beneath a large outcropping of rock. It made for a much more steep, difficult path for the horses, a sideways slope at some parts and treacherous rock surfaces on others, forcing them to go slowly and carefully, but eventually they passed onward without unnecessary conflict.

Soon enough, the river came into view again as well as the sound of its foaming roar of the falls, and just ahead there was a staggered row like a wall that caused them to pull the horses to a halt.

"Probably a Forsworn camp," Lavi mused when no one spoke, though the three males of the group knew that, even if it wasn't, it was a log fence made by human hands. Hostiles, no doubt, no matter if they were Forsworn or not. Bandits or Necromancers were just as likely.

"So what now, rabbit?" Going straight through and hoping for no trouble was a bad idea.

Lavi licked his lips and surveyed the landscape, nudging his horse towards the river. The rocks were slick and the drop to the river too far to expect the horses to jump. A fallen tree over the gap was too narrow and covered in slippery moss as well. Crossing the river at this point wasn't an option. It looked like there was enough space going around the structure they might be able to squeeze by without even being seen.

He nodded his head up towards the path, Kanda likewise showing he heard with a brief nod as they nudged the horses into a walk that direction.

The way sloped steeply and the steady rainfall had turned earth into mud. There was a parting in the rocks where they could see the inside of the camp and a man, dressed in fur and bones, but they were facing opposite and each of the four did their best to remain quiet, slipping by unnoticed, the river helping to mask the sound of their horses walking.

Cresting the top of the hill, just beyond they could see where the river forked widely, small islets dotting the expanse. One fork came from the west, while the other went south. The latter was the one that Lavi pointed down, after he gave it a moment of thought.

"Around that bend should be the falls. Just before it there's a hill. If we climb it, Karthwasten should be just on the other side. We could either go over it, or around to keep following the river until we hit the main road."

The others nodded and followed in silence until they reached the river, not wanting to draw the attention of any Forsworn. They stopped briefly to drink the fresh water and give the horses a short rest before they would cross.

Lavi took his while to gather ingredients from their side of the river - two Nirnroot, a rock warbler egg, and some hanging moss from further up. He went to gather some juniper berries off a tree as well when he heard an odd sound, like someone snapping cloth to shake it out. Then he heard it again and glanced up, swearing under his breath as he ducked into the cover of the juniper.

Almost straight above, a dragon circled the cliffs to the west of them, letting out a roar. It turned fully around to head east now and glided above the Forsworn camp, letting out another loud call. Its snarls echoed off the cliffs for _miles_ and the redhead could see Kanda draw his blade in preparation and Allen looking torn between bolting and staying.

The beast looked straight down upon them as it circled, like vultures or hawks over the site of a kill, but it didn't swoop down upon them, merely turned and headed east to disappear over Dragon Bridge Overlook. Lavi breathed an audible sigh of relief and ran back down towards his companions, sweeping up into the saddle of his horse quickly.

"I think it might be best if we hurry along, in case it decides to come back," he proposed, receiving no arguments as they all hurried along across the shallows by horseback.

Just as he had thought, Karthwasten was just beyond the adjacent hills, though the rain had yet to cease.


	20. Kindness for Kindess' Sake

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>"I want you sellswords out of my mine," a man growled, placing his hands on his hips for emphasis. As soon as the band of four from Solitude had entered Karthwasten, they'd come across a small crowd in the street, three on the left side who looked to be one landowner and two miners, and four on the right, who were well-armored and armed with weapons made of leather and iron.<p>

"We'll leave when we're assured there are no Forsworn here."

"Oh, and when will that be, I wonder? When I sell my land to the Silver-bloods?" the Breton landowner demanded.

"The Silver-blood's have made you a very generous offer for this pile of dirt. I suggest you take it."

Both sides looking unhappy, the miners took one path further into town while the sellsword band took another path towards one of the caves that made up the local mine, briefly glancing over the four travelers and then writing them off soon enough, likely disinterested since they weren't the aforementioned Forsworn the band were after.

"I guess we came at a bad time," Lavi mused.

"What the fuck gave you that idea?" Kanda scoffed sarcastically.

"You're hilarious, Yuu."

The sound of steel sliding from a sheathe was accompanied by a sharp, "Don't call me that, _rabbit_!"

Allen sighed. "What are we even doing stopping here? There isn't even an inn in Karthwasten."

"Because Markarth is still a ways off and its going to get dark soon, especially with the rain," Lavi stated, running a hand through hair long ago weighted down by water. "And I don't know about you, but I'm good and tired of being wet."

Allen huffed unhappily, Kanda uncaring, and Lenalee in agreement. Hopping down off their horses, they walked up to the man they had seen arguing with the mercenaries.

"Welcome to Karthwasten," he greeted, somewhat sourly, though more because he was put in a bad mood than anything. "Can I do something for you?"

"We were just hoping that you or one of the others here might let us crash for the night on our way to Markarth. Nothing fancy and we have our own food for ourselves, it'd just be nice to get out of this rain and cold for a while."

The man hummed. "I see no reason why not... though you may need to talk to the others and see how they feel about it," he stated carefully. "Anyway, perhaps I should introduce you all, then. I'm Ainethach, by the way."

"Lavi," the redhead introduced. "My companions here are Allen, Lenalee, and-" he paused a moment as the black-haired man narrowed his eyes in clear warning. "...a-and Kanda." Ainethach nodded and led the way across the deck of his house towards where the other two townsfolk had gone. "So are you in charge around here?"

"My family has owned Karthwasten for generations. Rare for anyone in the Reach that isn't a Nord. Not that it does me any good. Nords think I'm working for the Forsworn. Forsworn think I'm working for the Nords."

"And the Silver-bloods are trying to use it as reason to give you trouble over your mines?" Allen guessed perceptively.

"Robbery is what it is!" Ainethach declared, quite loudly and bitterly. "The Silver-bloods are trying to muscle in on my land. Forsworn attacked the mine, and suddenly all these sellswords show up to 'help'. They won't let anyone work until I sell it off."

"What if we were to persuade them to leave?" Allen proposed, surprising both Lavi and Kanda at the lad's sudden interest in it. They weren't the only ones Ainethatch stopping to face the white-haired youth.

"You could try, but I'd keep your sword-arm ready if things get ugly," he cautioned.

Allen merely smiled disarmingly, just before spinning on his heel and marching off towards the direction the mercenaries had gone with purpose. "Don't worry about it."

Lavi stared for a moment, exchanging a glance with Kanda, before he leapt to follow Allen's quickly receding back. Just as Allen reached the furnace outside one of the mines, Lavi grabbed him by the wrist to stop him, Allen whirling on him with eyes flashing dangerously and yanking his arm away.

"What?" the whitette hissed, flexing his claws meaningfully beneath his cloak.

"If you think we're going to let you just walk in there willy-nilly, then you're nuts," Lavi stated, watching him carefully in case the younger man really did choose to attack him. Allen narrowed his eyes.

"Just try and stop me," he stated coolly, lifting his nose in defiance and turning for the mine.

Lavi grabbed him by the collar with one hand and the wrist of his deformed arm with the other, mainly because he didn't fancy getting clawed again after having experienced how much damage it could do a good two or three times already. His shoulder was still healing from the first time Allen had used them on him and he had no desire for repeats.

"Let me go, damn it!"

"Why?" Lavi returned, forcing his voice level but firm. He was by far no idiot, despite that Kanda and Allen liked to imply as much, and he'd already thought of what the other might be after. What was to say he wasn't going to turn said mercenaries around on them and use it to either kill them or run off under the chaos? Lavi certainly wouldn't put it past him. "So you can go in there, make a few new friends, and go running off away from us? I don't think so."

Allen rolled his eyes. "While the idea is tempting, I can assure you, the Silver-bloods are no friends of mine."

"And you expect me to simply believe that?"

"I don't give a _shit _what you believe. Knowing the contents of a Skeever's breakfast is more important to me than your paranoia, now get _off _me!" Allen snarled, emphasizing his words with a sharp kick to Lavi's knee, making the redhead yelp and hop in pain. Allen turned to continue on his path to the mine, but Kanda stood in his way, the two locking eyes and trying to glare the other down, light silver against almost-black hues. "Move."

"Not a chance."

"I won't ask again," Allen growled.

"Good, because the answer is the fucking same."

"I'm warning you."

"Of what? Your stupidity?"

"I'll scalp every one of those pretty little hairs off your head if you don't _move it_, Fem-face." Satisfyingly, he saw Kanda twitch angrily at that threat and draw his blade.

"Repeat that, Grasspod. I _dare _you."

"Guys-" Lenalee tried to interject.

"The name is _Allen_! And are you deaf now as well as being an asshole?"

"No, but you'll be mute when I'm done carving that idiot tongue out of your mouth!" Kanda snarled, poising his sword threateningly. It didn't have the effect of intimidation that he was going for.

"First you'd have to reach me with that butter-knife of yours," Allen shot back.

"Allen, Yuu, c'mon," Lavi tried to resolve peaceably. "You two need to just-"

"Mind your own business, or you're next!" both of them snapped in unison, the redhead shying away nervously and having no doubts that both would be up to making good on that promise.

"_Stop it!_" Lenalee irately screamed, catching all three off guard. "You're _all _acting like idiots!"

"_Che_."

Allen only glared between Kanda and Lavi silently, while Lenalee heaved an exasperated sigh like a babysitter dealing with too many naughty children. Being more mindful than her companions, she turned questioning eyes to the youngest of their party.

"Allen, why are you so dead-set on going in there?"

Allen sighed audibly, bet he relaxed somewhat. "Because what the Silver-bloods are doing isn't right. This land isn't theirs to take, and _someone _has to help Ainethach out."

"Why do you even care?" Lavi asked, raising a brow. "You're a bandit wanted across every Hold for doing worse."

Allen snapped a glare in the redhead's direction, his left hand twitching as if he was just barely holding himself back from using them to rip the other apart.

"Not _all _of us are completely about selfish gain all the time. Like I said, I'm doing it because _someone _has to, and obviously none of you are going to, so if I want it done, I'll have to do it myself."

"I don't buy that," Lavi stated, staring at Allen suspiciously. "You're after something."

"Or maybe I'm not, and you're just a selfish asshole projecting your own flaws onto me," Allen hissed, whisking past Kanda briskly and heading for the mine again. Lavi sighed irritation and shook his head, feeling both Kanda and Lenalee's eyes on him in curiosity, and he followed, glancing back at the other two imploringly.

"Well, we can't simply leave him to his own devices." Kanda looked annoyed as they followed, but neither said anything about it.

The inside of the cave was well-lit by hanging lanterns and torches. One of the mercenaries walked about the entrance, keeping watch over it, and gave them a harsh stare as the four entered.

"We're in control of this mine. No sudden moves," he growled, making it clear that he would meet them with brute force if they gave him any reason to doubt. Further in, there was a larger chamber with arrow targets and tables lined in food, another of the mercenaries standing watch in one place, the one that had appeared to be the leader talking outside earlier, a well-armored man with short blond hair and a medium-sized beard.

Allen approached him with a friendly smile, appearing the part of the harmless teenager without any trouble at all.

"This mine is closed. Get lost."

"That's why I'm here, actually. I need to ask that you leave Karthwasten," Allen stated, his tone a perfect, rare balance of firm and polite all at once.

"Helping out Ainethach, huh? Give me a reason not to plunge a dagger in your chest," the blond sneered, crossing his arms and eyes narrowing. Allen was entirely unaffected by it, radiating patience and good will to a degree that was almost sickening if not for the fact that he pulled it off while looking entirely sincere about it.

"The townspeople don't want you here."

"Oh?" the mercenary almost laughed. "Well let's just see them _make _us leave."

"There's no need for that," Allen cooed. "I can arrange to make you leave, however."

"Is that a threat, _boy_?" the man snarled.

Allen only smiled innocently, even as Lavi and Kanda both tensed, preparing for a fight. "It isn't a threat unless you give me reason to follow through on it. Refusing to leave, for instance."

"You sure have a sharp tongue for a brat whose about to be skewered with a sword!" the man snarled, drawing a steel sword from his side and lunging towards Allen.

The adolescent swept aside his swing with starling agility and tripped up the man's one leg, staggering him but not managing to fully trip him. It was enough just to knock him off balance however as Allen whirled and kicked him in the hip, sending him into the dirt a few feet down and leaping down, kicking him in the side of the head and knocking the guy out.

Allen only smiled at Lavi and Kanda, whose eyes had widened slightly at him. He shrugged nonchalance, before his attention was taken away by the other mercenaries coming to the defense of their unconscious leader.

"Just what we needed," Kanda hissed, drawing his blade.

"If you don't want to get involved, then don't. I can handle these ruffians on my own," Allen stated calmly, rushing to meet the other bandit that came to join the fray. The man swung a mace at him, but he dodged back. When the swing came again, Allen skidded underneath it and used his clawed arm to grab the man's arm, ripping muscle with his claws and making the enemy lose their grip on their weapon.

While they were still howling about their bleeding arm, he brought his knee up into their gut and made them double over, then brought his elbow down onto the back of their head, making them ineffective to fight any longer.

Two more came running, and Allen picked up the mace as something to use to block as the third to arrive swung a one-handed axe at him, kicking the guy in the gut and sending him staggering back. When the fourth arrived to swing another mace at him, he spun around their swing until he was behind them, grabbed the arm of the third mercenary when they recovered to attack, and tripped him at the same moment he twirled, knocking the two into each other and onto the floor.

As they scrambled to get back up, one took a solid right hook to the jaw that sent them into a wall, and the other he pounced upon to pin to the floor, claws hovering near his wide eyes, threatening to gauge them out and making him fall still.

It was enough to impress Kanda and make Lavi's head spin, even though he'd already had a good idea of how skilled and intelligent of a person Allen was.

"Now you gentleman are going to do the right thing and walk away from Karthwasten," Allen hummed, his voice still notably polite and unwavering. "And you're not going to go back to working for the Silver-blood's ever again. Otherwise you're going to have me to answer to, and I won't be so lenient the next time. Understood?"

The man nodded quickly and Allen smiled, the spitting image of childlike innocence incarnate. Terrifyingly so, even.

"Good. See to it that you keep your word, and maybe one day we'll be able to strike up _proper _business that's rewarding for everyone." Allen stood and let the man up, looking far too pleased with himself though rightfully so. He turned a smile towards Lenalee and Kanda, pointedly not looking at Lavi. "My business is done here. Now we can go see about those lodgings. After we tell Ainethach that his mine is no longer under threat, of course."

Lavi couldn't help but stare, dumbfounded, as they followed Allen from the mine.

"Something wrong?" Lavi glanced to Kanda, who was likewise scrutinizing him.

"No, nothing," the redhead hummed, looking ahead once more. "He's just... not what you would expect out of someone of his kind."

Kanda only hummed acknowledgement as they followed, heading back to Ainethach. The man and the miners welcomed him back like a hero of old fables returned from a mighty conquest after seeing off the battered mercenaries, offering up dinner and drinks as well as lodging in thanks. Allen was surprisingly humble about it, and it was difficult to tell if he was sincere or merely putting on an act.

"So is this what you were after?" Lavi finally asked as the night wore and the drinks poured on, seeing Allen's expression turn from content to annoyed. "Win the favor and generosity of the townsfolk with a chivalrous act of random kindness?"

"You're projecting again," Allen sneered under his breath.

"I am not," Lavi argued, feeling a rush of annoyance of his own.

"Maybe I just did it because it was the right thing to do," Allen stated abruptly, surveying the other occupants of the room, who were mostly busying themselves with telling stories by the hearth.

Lavi hummed, unconvinced.

"Well then what would _you _have done?" Allen challenged, giving him a withering glance.

Lavi merely shrugged. "Minded my own business, probably."

"Then you're worse than a person with a motive," Allen snarked, returning to sipping at his drink. Lavi didn't react, but for some reason, the words stung more than he thought they should have.

"Then what was your motive?"

Allen took his while to enjoy the ale in-hand, in non rush to answer.

"I can't stand when people like the Silver-blood family bully honest, hard-working people into uprooting their entire livelihoods just for someone else's greed," Allen stated, smiling condescendingly at the redhead as if bitterly humoring an ignorant child or a fool born irreversibly soft in the head. "I like it best when the little guy wins against the odds for once."


	21. Markarth

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

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><p>Warm dinner, drinks, and a place to stay had been a nice reward for being rid of the mercenaries occupying the mines in Karthwasten. 600 gold was an even nicer reward that Allen easily caved in taking, once again lending to Lavi's suspicion that such reward had been the young man's intent all along.<p>

Even subtly suggesting as much, however, led the white-haired juvenile to give him the evil eye every time.

Better yet, the rains had passed come morning when they left for the main road, refreshed and well-rested.

Kanda remained silent, characteristically disinterested in making conversation, while Allen and Lenalee made small talk like a pair of sociable songbirds, getting along rather swimmingly. Allen had easily enough made himself comfortable talking with her while, quite obviously, making every effort possible to pretend that Lavi simply did not exist.

There was, however, something that he felt the white-haired lad - even if he was being somewhat of a grudging prick - should know about before they reached Markarth.

"You should be careful not to get too close and cuddly," he said, partially in teasing as he rode at the back. He could hear the huff of exasperation regardless. Allen clearly still hated him. "We wouldn't want anything unfortunate to happen to you."

Allen looked over his shoulder, glaring darkly. "Is that a threat?"

"No." Lavi shook his head. "It's a warning. You've never met Komui before."

Allen's brows furrowed. "Who?"

Lenalee sighed audibly, drawing Allen's gaze. "My brother."

"What about him?"

"He's..." Lenalee trailed off, looking at a loss of how to continue.

"He's an damn overbearing sister-complex," Kanda scoffed. Allen smirked, raising a brow.

"He's a what-now?"

"Overprotective," Lavi chimed in helpfully. "To a degree the likes of which you have never seen."

Allen rolled his eyes. "Thank you for the explanation, but I'm sure Lenalee could explain for herself without _you _butting in."

The girl in question swiveled in her saddle to look between the two males in concern, seeing Lavi frown unpleasantly. "You don't have to be so mean to him, Allen."

"I'm not doing anything unearned," Allen defended huffily, watching forward now rather than back at the redhead or to the side at Lenalee.

"It was rude and you should apologize," she insisted, but Allen stubbornly refused, though he held his tongue from arguing. Lenalee sighed helplessly and looked back at Lavi in question, hoping for an explanation, but the redhead merely shrugged in silence. She shook her head and looked ahead once more.

Why did men have to be so damn stubborn?

Fog clung to the cliffs most of the rest of the way, obscuring the narrow walls of rising canyons and cliffs. Passing a cave, crossing a bridge over steep falls, and heading uphill past a solitary grass-roofed house, they finally reached Markarth a little after noon.

The river that flowed from the confines of the city steadily hummed to their left, a mine and several Dwemer-built houses across the water. Further ahead, great towers of stone were visible through the cold mist wafting down from the mountain peaks where the city was situated at its base. The rounded rust-gold colored roofs and pair of doors set in the defense wall around the city greeted them.

A scraggily wolfhound bounded up towards them from the stables just outside the city and barked alarm, sniffing and surveying the strangers as they slid down from their horses, which whickered nervousness and sidled but didn't bolt. Allen only smiled and offered a hand, the dog taking its time to draw in his scent before licking his palm. The boy smiled slightly wider and patted the animal atop the head.

"Need a trained war-dog?" a man asked gruffly, sitting off to the side of the stable. "Fiercest companion money can buy."

Allen merely shook his head, giving the canine a last appreciative pat.

"No, thank you."

The foursome walked up the full, double-flight of steps to the gate, which appeared the same orangey-gold coloration as the rooftops and finely crafted with angular designs and square swirls.

Everything seemed peaceful enough, but as soon as they walked through, a man standing in front of a stand selling fresh meat drew a dagger and ran around to attack a woman browsing jewelry at the stand behind it, plunging it into his spine and killing her, screaming, "The Reach is for the Forsworn!"

The guards came running instantly and cut him down right in front of the newly arrived, the man bleeding out onto the stone street. The dying man clawed across the ground and grabbed a hold of Allen's ankle as he gasped his last breaths, coughing blood. Lavi saw Allen instinctively take a step back, bristling in alarm with eyes wide.

"...I-I die... for my pe-ople..."

A quick glance around told of whisperings, either full of fear or disdain for the dead man, while the guards already worked to move the corpse out. Lavi could tell, even from behind, that Allen's breaths were coming forcibly controlled, and he reached a steadying hand out to place on the teen's shoulder. As soon as he did, Allen seemed to come back out of his shock in an instant and jerked away from the redhead as if the touch burned him, glaring hatred.

"Do _not _touch me!"

Lavi merely held his hands up in a placating manner.

"Everyone step back! The city guard will handle this," one of the local soldiers ordered crisply. "There are _no _Forsworn here!"

"Gods, a woman attacked, right on the streets!" a man gasped just off to the side of them as they stepped aside to let the guards do their work. He looked to them in scrutiny, his eyes appearing to know far too much. "Are you all alright? Did you see what happened?"

"He just pulled out a dagger out of nowhere and killed the woman, yelling something about Forsworn," Allen said, his voice still somewhat shaky after being blindsided by such a sight.

"The Forsworn? Strange. Well I hope that the Eight give you more peace from now on, for what it's worth." He turned as if to leave and then stopped, turning back. "Oh, I think you dropped this. Some kind of note. Looks important."

Lavi blinked and glanced to Allen, who appeared equally as confused and suspicious as he was. Allen was silent for a long moment, and the man took the opportunity to walk elsewhere, while Allen looked thoughtful. He clearly knew that it was a ploy to get him to take the letter as much as Lavi did, watching the man disappear before finally stepping off to the side and opening it to see what it said.

It merely had _Meet me at the Shrine of Talos _written upon it.

"What do you think that was about?" Lavi mused, while Allen shrugged, momentarily forgetting he was pissed at Lavi, it seemed.

"Dunno."

"Well, anyway, we should go find Komui first, and talk to him. You can worry over whatever that's about afterwards."

Allen merely nodded, but he looked distracted as they walked. Another leaned outside of a doorway stopped to ask them about if they'd seen anyone enter or leave the door he stood in front of, declaring himself of Vigilant of Stendarr and talking about suspected Daedric worship, but they merely declined and headed further in to the city, to a door at the far back behind some falls.

Inside of Understone Keep - as it was called - was an old Dwemer ruin, rubble cluttering the side of the path. A man argued near the front gates, demanding answers from a robed figure about a burial site being closed off. Straight ahead of them was a hall leading further in, the right, a long staircase, and a cluttered, rubble-covered path to the left.

Lenalee led the others inside and stopped by one of the two guards stationed in front of the hall heading straight.

"Excuse me, is my brother working the excavation site right now?"

"Your brother? Oh! Um... Komui, right?" One of them tilted their head back in thought. "Hmm, yes, I think they're working over there right this moment."

"Thank you!" she offered up happily and led the way through the path to their immediate left, the other three falling in step. Lavi noticed Allen pointedly pretended to be curious in the structures behind them as they walked, keeping his face anywhere other than directed at the guards, then finally relaxed when the men were behind them.

Beyond was a large chamber, a good couple hundred feet high, most of it natural. More Dwemer towers and stone pathways lay beyond, lit by stone fire pits and decorative pillars where posed Dwarven Spheres - a rolling, humanoid defense system built by the extinct race of Dwarves - stood watch over the doorway further in. The sound of running water suggested a creek flowing through the mountain just beneath a stone bridge ahead.

A few human figures milled about, looking like they were discussing something deeply important. Lenalee perked when she spotted one with shoulder-length black hair that curled out to either side of his head, running to greet him.

"Brother!"

The man nearly jumped in surprise before he brightened and dropped some sort of gear on one of the wood tables, opening his arms and catching her in an embrace as she threw herself at him.

"Lenalee! I heard there was some kind of attack on Solitude... something about dragons? I'm glad you're alright!" He paused a moment and let go to step back, surveying her up and down for a moment just to be sure such was wholly the truth. Satisfied that she was unhurt, he smiled again warmly, pulling her into a second hug, both of them standing like that for a long moment before he stepped away again, his attention now turning to her companions. "I see you brought Kanda and Lavi," he mused, before his gaze fell on the young stranger. "Who's this?"

"This is Allen," she introduced, motioning behind her. Allen, however, was looking elsewhere distractedly, not really listening. "I guess he's sort of the reason why we're here."

"Oh?" Komui hummed, studying the young man for a moment before he stepped forward briskly, bending slightly to be more at eye-level and startling the teen out of his thoughts into almost jumping back, looking uncomfortable at the proximity and the scrutinizing gleam in the man's eye. "Allen, hm? I hope for your sake you don't get any _funny _ideas about my sister."

"What?" Allen squeaked, his eyes briefly switching from Komui to Lenalee - who looked notably embarrassed - and then back to the man again as he took a step back to regain a bit of personal space, forcing a polite smile and his voice evening out. "No, of course not! My father raised me to be a proper gentleman, not a lecher."

Komui studied him grimly for long enough to make his hair prickle uncomfortably before it was finally replaced by a warmly approving smile, Komui straightening up to his full height, which was quite impressive, especially when compared to his own height which was slightly lacking.

"I'm glad to hear it!" Komui declared, tousling the boy's hair for a moment in an affectionate manner that put Allen at a loss as to how to react, staying rooted to where he already was as the older male walked back towards his younger sister. "So do tell me, is it all true? _Dragons _attacked Solitude?" He was clearly having trouble wrapping his mind around it, but he looked to be trying at any rate.

"That's correct," Kanda grunted, finding a place against the wall to lean. Perhaps not coincidentally at all, it was near the doorway, probably to make sure Allen didn't go creeping off.

Komui nodded grim understanding. If even _Kanda _stated that such were true, then it had to be.

"And our buddy Allen here might be Dragonborn," Lavi added with a motion of his head, choosing to ignore the hissed "I am _NOT _your _'buddy__'_!" from the boy in question himself.

Komui's interest noticeably piqued at that, the man stopping and staring at him curiously. "Is that so?"

"Bookman suggested we go to High Hrothgar to see the Greybeards about it and find out if its true, so that's where we were heading now. This was just sort of a detour so Lenalee could come and see you," Lavi stated, folding his arms behind his head casually.

"I see," Komui hummed, still staring at Allen with an intensity that made the lad uncomfortable. "Well, you can't all go out there unprepared. I might see if I can't have a word with the Jarl and the local blacksmiths, perhaps. I can only imagine that potentially fighting off dragons would entail the need for some very fine craftsmanship in weaponry and armor."

"Now hold on a moment, I haven't said anything about fighting any dragons!" Allen interjected, looking startled. Komui merely smiled paternally.

"Perhaps not, but it doesn't hurt to go prepared, now does it? And if there are dragons loose and about, you might not get much choice," he said, lacing his fingers into a joint-popping stretch. "Just sit tight and wait for me a moment. I'll see if I can't gather together a few willing helpers to get you outfitted."

"No, really! That isn't neces-"

Too late, Komui was already sauntering off, a fully intent man on a mission. Allen sighed and let his arm fall back to his side in overwhelmed defeat, pondering whether or not to give chase.

"It's useless, you know," Lenalee told him, as if reading his mind. "Once he gets a goal in mind, there's no stopping him. You might as well just accept it."

"He doesn't even know me," Allen pointed out, still looking somewhat at a loss. "And now he's just... already trying to throw stuff like armor at me. I-in the good way, I mean..."

Lenalee laughed warmly. "That's just how he is. My brother is always looking out for other people."

Allen merely nodded to show he understood, and though they _did _have to wait a while, Komui returned with a few others. One such new face was that of a shorter male with brown hair tied tightly against his head with two poofs in the back, who bore all the eagerness of a dog about to be given a fresh cow bone.

"Allen, this is Johnny," Komui directed to the young man that trailed behind him. "He works on tailoring and blacksmithing. He'll make sure that your armor is outfitted best as it can be."

"Can't you just give me some generic armor? I'm not a hard fit, and all this really isn't-"

"No way!" Johnny piped, not to be dissuaded by Allen's voiced discomfort. "Armor should always fit the wearer specific to them! Otherwise it'll be less effective, and you have an important mission, right?"

Allen looked between them helplessly. "Really, all of this is entirely unnecessary. I don't even have the coin to pay for a set if custom work like this!" Not if he expected to eat properly, with his appetite.

Johnny merely beamed at him. "Then don't worry about it! I don't expect you to pay for it!"

"What?" Allen gaped openly.

Johnny grinned at him, almost seeming to puff up with pride. "I won't expect you to pay... not with money, at least, but if you were to do me a favor instead, then that'd be payment enough!"

"And what would that be?" Allen asked cautiously, feeling a little overwhelmed at the attention.

"I'll make you the best armor I can! But you have to tell other people where it came from, alright? If people heard that the Gill family are the ones who crafted the armor of the legendary Dragonborn, then it'd help business! People would come from all over to order armor for themselves as well! We'd more than earn back what it'd cost to make it for you."

Allen huffed and smiled wryly. So it wasn't just generosity after all, it was a trade-off. That, he was more comfortable with, though the issue of his arm was still in question, since he was in the habit of hiding it from view. Would they be so eager to help him then? Or would they overlook it on account of legends that may not even be true?

"Alright..." Allen conceded. He hadn't gotten any proper armor in a long time, basically just hand-me-downs or battered pieces stolen off of some unfortunate saps or corpses he stumbled across on occasion in the open wilds. Not that it was normally a necessity for him. He tried to avoid open conflict where he could, and had learned to be quick in reflex to compensate when a fight presented itself. "It doesn't look like any of you want to give me much of a choice."


	22. The Forsworn Conspiracy

**A/N: **If some of you have played Skyrim this may already be familiar(if you did the questline) but for those that haven't, enjoy~ This is basically going by mostly the same events.

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><p><strong>Best Laid Plans<br>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover**

* * *

><p>Komui and his coworkers had taken Allen's appendage surprisingly... well. If "well" included being far too interested in it and wanting to poke and prod and ask questions as if his arm was some kind of extra special lab rat they couldn't wait to crack open and find out every little thing possible about it. Komui was especially, unashamedly nosey and Lenalee had to intervene before, to use her words, he "sent Allen fleeing all the way to the Shimmering Isles just to be sure he had escaped". A joke that Lavi had agreed with a jovial laugh at Allen's expense.<p>

Once again, the white-haired lad was pretty much assured the only people who could tolerate his arm without being repulsed by it were people with a few screws loose.

Lavi's... _manipulation _didn't count as acceptance. That little game of `pretend everything's normal` he'd played during their trip through the northern snows still had the white-haired male pissed at him. Komui's band were intrusive enough to make him squeamish but at least they didn't try to _seduce _him!

The amount of attention given to his arm still made his skin crawl though.

After everyone settled down and Johnny took proper measurements to outfit his armor - which he still felt somewhat uncomfortable in accepting - he slunk off to the streets to snatch a few breaths of air not choked by dust, steam, and oil from Dwemer machinery that still worked long after the race had gone extinct. It would take them some time to craft, and for now all that was left was to bide their time until then.

He idly fished the note from his pocket that he'd been handed upon first entering Markarth, re-reading the words _Meet me at the Shrine of Talos. _He had no idea what it was about, and he didn't recognize the face of the person who'd slipped it to him, but an uneasy feeling still managed to worm its way into his gut. There was no name or even an indication of who might want to meet with him written on there.

Could it be a debt-collector? His Master had dues all across Tamriel, but in Skyrim and Cyrodiil especially. Or maybe the Silver-blood's had caught wind of him after his display in Karthwasten and wanted to send a message of their own? Although they could have simply had him arrested. The Jarl ruled Markarth officially, but anyone that had been there and had a good ear open knew the guard were really in the back pocket of the Silver-blood's when it came down to it, and the Silver-blood's didn't overlook being crossed. That part aside, they could simply have tried to arrest him because of the bounty on his head.

"Something on your mind?"

Allen scowled as Lavi walked up to stand off to his side, arms folded behind his head casually. "And what does it matter to you?"

"Maybe it doesn't and I was merely making an attempt at conversation," Lavi returned, so aloof it was almost cold. That managed to irk the white-haired teen more than he thought it would, trying to focus on something else.

"If you don't care, then don't ask. I wouldn't want to bore you or anything after all."

Lavi merely hummed disinterest, falling silent. It only managed to make Allen's irritation spike higher. Before the redhead was acting all sentimental and gung-ho to act as if they should become best buddies, and _now _he was going to do the exact opposite, as if he was just some plaything that had lost its appeal now that it was no longer Shiny and New to him?

Allen audibly huffed and headed down the steps away from the Keep, deciding he'd go see what the letter was about. It was better than spending any length of time alone in Lavi's company, even if it turned out to be debt collectors or some other unpleasant faces. It wasn't as if manipulators were anything new to him, but most of them entailed manipulating a bet of money, not toying with his emotions like a mouse to a cat.

He headed right on the path towards Riverside district, hearing the roar of the falls and the churning watermill as he went. Left took him to stairs that climbed a mound of carved stone at the center of the city, and through a narrow hall was a doorway that he hoped was the right one, stepping inside. To his displeasure, Lavi still tailed him, but at the very least, the redhead remained silent.

Of course, Allen was no idiot and knew it was because the eye-patched traitor didn't trust him not to run off if he wasn't being watched. Why couldn't Kanda have continued to play watch-dog instead? At least the sour-faced swordsman didn't try to _pretend_ to be his friend.

The inside of the building was dim, lit only by a few struggling torches, but further ahead he recognized a Talos statue, so he assumed it to be the right place. As he descended the sloped hall, his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he was able to make out a human figure that he quickly recognized as the same person who had given him the note earlier, waiting as promised.

"I'm sorry to drag you into Markarth's problems, but after that attack in the market, I'm running out of time," the man greeted quietly, glancing around with an edginess of someone under hidden threat. "You're an outsider. You're dangerous-looking. You'll do."

" '_I'll do_'? Do what exactly?"

"You want answers? Well so do I! So does everyone in this city!" the man snapped harshly. "A man goes crazy in the market. Everyone knows he's a Forsworn agent. The guards do nothing. Nothing but clean up the mess."

"And you want _me _to find out why?" Allen questioned, raising his brows.

The man nodded. "This has been going on for years, and all I've been able to find is murder and blood. I need help. Please, if you find out why that woman was attacked, who was behind Weylin and the Forsworn, then I'll pay you for any information you bring me."

Allen sighed slowly, looking conflicted for a moment, then resolved. "Only information, right?"

"Allen-"

"Don't," the whitette growled, whirling on Lavi. "Whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it." With that, he brushed by the other, ignoring the sigh from the older male. Lavi was a bit slower to follow, managing to squeeze a few more sentences of information out of the man - Eltrys - before following at Allen's heels. It was at that point he found Allen looking about as if he'd suddenly lost which way was up.

"Unsure where to go already?" Lavi quipped, ignoring the glower he received. "I'll give you a hint you failed to get yourself off that Eltrys guy: he lived in the Warrens down there." He directed with a point of his finger to Riverside. Allen said nothing, merely stepped briskly down the pathway towards it without so much as a thanks.

_He sure keeps one mighty grudge, doesn't he? _Lavi mused, though to a certain extent, he couldn't blame the guy either. Not after everything that had transpired in Solitude.

The Warren was nothing but a stone and earthen cubby with a door at the entrance, and several smaller rooms for the lowest class of citizens to call home. A man in little more than old rags stood near the entrance, leaning against a stone pillar. He regarded the two entering males with a look like a dog ready to see off intruders.

"The Warren ain't for your kind. What do you want?"

"We're trying to find out some information," Allen began, pausing a moment to think of how to proceed as the man watched them carefully.

"Did you know a guy named Weylin?" Lavi picked up.

"Oh yes. I know everyone who sleeps in the Warrens. Kind of the one who passes the keys around," the man nodded somberly. On a slightly more chipper note, he added, "I guess someone else will be taking his room now."

"Could we have the key to get into Weylin's room?" Allen questioned hopefully.

"Sorry, but you don't exactly _belong _here," the man stated gruffly.

"Please, its very important," Allen insisted.

"Yeah, you can trust us," Lavi added, grinning charmingly. Allen had to bite his tongue to keep from commenting on that. _One _of them could be trusted, and as far as he was concerned, Lavi wasn't the one among them that could be. Making an issue in front of this man would get them worse than nowhere though, so he omitted a contradictory remark.

"Trust is hard to come by in the Warren..." the man hummed, then fished out a key to hand to Allen. "But alright. Its the room in the far back, on the right side."

"Thank you. I'll be sure to return the key once we're finished," Allen said with a smile and a - unnecessary, in Lavi's opinion - slight bow of respect. When they entered the indicated room, there was very little within. A hay pile and an old fur was all that constituted a bed. A half-buried, rickety, wood table held stale food and a pickaxe, and on the left of the room was a lantern and a wood chest. Inside the chest they found several items; some pelts, a few coins, eating wares, and a note.

Opening the note, it immediately provided some solid evidence of some sort of conspiracy or plan being carried out by someone else from the shadows, with Weylin being the sacrificial go-between.

_Weylin,_

_You've been chosen to strike fear in the heart of the Nords. Go to the market tomorrow. You will know what to do._

_-N_

"Any idea who 'N' might be?"

Allen rolled his eyes and elbowed Lavi in the chest, the redhead having leaned in far too close for his comfort. "And why would I?" Stowing it into the folds of his clothing for safe keeping, he left everything else untouched and led Lavi from the room, locking it back up and returning the key as promised. Perhaps Eltrys might have a better idea. The man had simply said to get information for him, after all.

As soon as they stepped outside, Allen stopped, a man in armor waiting for them and approaching with a grim err about him.

"You've been digging around where you don't belong," the man growled, crossing his arms with a scowl. "It's time you learned a lesson."

"Who sent you?" Allen asked innocently, though Lavi could feel him tense in readiness for a fight that was likely inevitable.

"Someone who doesn't like you asking questions," the man retorted, raising his fists and coming at them.

Allen ducked and swept aside, letting Lavi take a graze from the swing instead. The redhead growled his own annoyance as he was backed to the door, kicking out and sending the guy staggering just long enough that he could bolt out of the way of the fight, pausing to glance around for Allen, who - surprisingly enough - didn't run off.

"Come on, if we run to the keep, we can probably avoid a fight!" Lavi urged, but Allen didn't budge, instead flexing his hands.

"Or I could just get the information I want out of this guy," the younger shrugged, as if it would be like a walk through the garden.

"Not going to run, eh? You might have been wiser to listen to your friend!"

Allen narrowed his eyes as he fell into a low fighting stance, squaring off. "Don't misidentify people as my friends who aren't."

The man didn't reply and instead rushed forward to attack, swinging his fists. Allen nimbly ducked under or around them, trading blows, though Allen managed to maintain the upper-hand the entire time, occasionally utilizing his claws, though more to put distance between them than cause much real damage. Exhausted, the other man finally collapsed onto a knee in defeat, cornered near the door where he and Lavi had walked out from.

"Ughn! You mangy piece of pit-bait!"

Allen grabbed him by the collar, pinning him against the corner with claws threatening the soft flesh of his throat.

"Now talk. Who sent you?"

"I was sent by Nepos the Nose. The old man hands out the orders. He told me to make sure you don't get in the way. That's all I know, I swear!"

"That must be who 'N' is," Lavi mused.

After deciding the man really was spitting up everything he knew, Allen let him go and they went on their way. They brought the information to Eltrys, receiving a sum of coin from him for the intelligence. He seemed to know who Nepos was, but suspected someone else pulling the real strings even further up somewhere.

The next place they went to was the Silverblood Inn, though Allen felt uncomfortable going inside, given his infamy and earlier defiance against the Silver-blood's in Karthwasten, so Lavi agreed to get the information on his own while Allen waited at the Keep. When Lavi finally returned, it was with an over-the-shoulder edginess of almost being caught in the wrong.

"I got something," he said, smiling touchy triumph. "Some guards stopped me just outside the inn and told me to _stay out of their business _and that they heard about us asking questions. They didn't search me for anything though, least of all _this_." It was at this moment he produced a bound journal from the folds of his clothing.

"Whose journal?" Lenalee asked curiously.

"The woman who was killed in the marketplace," Lavi whispered, glancing past them at the guards standing watch in front of the hall to the Jarl's throne, noticing they were being scrutinized. "Turns out the woman was an agent for General Tulius. She was trying to get the deed for Cidhna Mine and bring it to him, so Tulius could rip ownership of it right out from under the Silver-blood's. There was a mention in here of Thanor Silverblood... the guy who pretty much runs Markarth, official recognition of the Jarl aside."

Lenalee's eyes widened in horror. "So then, she was-"

Lavi nodded, quietly shushing her before she could get loud enough to be overheard by any of the nearby guards.

"So it wasn't the Forsworn after all..." Allen hummed.

"Well, I don't know..." Lavi returned. "The Imperial Legion getting ownership of Cidhna Mine on top of Markarth would probably be bad for them, and so long as the Forsworn are indirectly benefiting the Silver-blood's, they look the other way. The Silver-blood's are officially on the Legion's side, but they're really Stormcloak sympathizers. They don't like the rule of the Thalmor over Skyrim."

"Does the Jarl know about this?" Lenalee whispered, eyes still wide with realization.

"Maybe. He might not care, though. Anyway, it says this Margaret person was going to be meeting with someone at the Treasury House."

"So then, that's the next place I'll investigate," Allen decided.

"Then we'll help you," Lenalee decided.

"No, it's better if you don't," Allen stated. "The further I go, the more risky this is going to get. My snooping around has already been noticed."

"All the more reason," Kanda scoffed, sounding as if he didn't truly care either way. "If your dumb ass gets into trouble, we can't risk you dying, since you're the Dragonborn."

Allen was starting to already tire of that being used as a measure for his value, especially after they'd been completely willing to let him die before finding out. He didn't pursue the subject however and merely stood, frowning, but he didn't want to cause a commotion here, with the guards still watching them carefully.

"Fine. Do as you wish."

After dropping off the new bit of information with Eltrys, they went to the treasury house and spoke to a woman named Rhiade. She was impervious to attempts at polite persuasion, but when Kanda got fed up and threatened, she caved easily and told them which room they could find Thanor Silverblood to speak with him. When they found him, the man was rude and unwilling to talk, ordering them to get out with no information to show for it.

Just when they were about to leave, a small band of Forsworn appeared inside the Treasury House and killed several of the people inside, including Thanor's wife. When they were taken care of and dead, Thanor finally caved in giving up information about a man named Madanach in Cidhna Mine who was the King of the Forsworn, just before ordering them out again and promising that they would end up rotting in the prison soon enough as well.

Allen decided it best to warn Eltrys, and they headed back to the Shrine of Talos, but too late. When they arrived, it was to a trio of Markarth guards instead.

"We warned you, but _you_ had to go and just cause trouble. Now we have to pin all these recent murders on you. Silence witnesses. Work, work, work."

"What?" Allen gaped, before he shook away his shock. "I get it, not that it was hard to guess. You're all corrupt, taking payment from Thanor to silence or make anyone disappear who knows the truth." He didn't need to even ask to know what had probably befallen Eltrys.

"That may be so, but what of it? We have a nice arrangement in this city, and we're not letting you get in our way. You have a problem with that? Take it up with Madanach. I'm sure the King of rags and his Forsworn would _love _to meet you. Now you're coming with us. It's a life sentence in Cidhna Mine for you. You'll never see the sun again. No one escapes Cidhna Mine, you hear me? No one."


	23. Inmates

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>"This is the second time in a <em>week <em>I've been imprisoned thanks to you," Allen grumbled.

"Thanks to _me_? You're the one who wanted to play Savior for basically no reason at all!" Lavi grumped.

"People are being murdered in Markarth. How can you call that _nothing_?"

"People get murdered or die all the time. People die in war. They die of famine and poverty. They die because they fell on their sword after drinking too much. What does one matter over the other?"

"Gods you're an asshole."

"Takes one to know one, doesn't it?"

"Is that really the best you can come up with?" Allen rebuked, before huffing irritably. "Why are we the only two who got arrested, anyway?"

"Probably because Lenalee's brother is prominent enough in Markarth and wasn't really involved," Lavi pointed out, single eye scanning the small cell they were in and scratching where the burlap rags they had the gal to call _clothes _irritated his flesh. "And Yuu outranks just about everyone in this entire city. I doubt Tulius would stand for it if he got imprisonment for life in Cidhna Mine, especially when Tulius wants to take ownership of it already. The Silver-bloods aren't that dumb."

Allen merely hummed as an Orc woman of green skin and a lower-fanged mouth opened up a doorway and approached them, looking stern.

"Alright prisoners, eyes front and shut up. You're in Cidhna Mine now, and we expect you to earn your keep," she barked. "There's no resting your hide in a cell in this prison. Here you work. You'll keep mining ore until you start throwing up silver bars. You got it?"

Lavi glanced sidelong at his companion to see what he would do or say, but Allen retained silence, a hint of calculation in his eyes. The woman took the omission as agreement to behave, continuing on despite that neither had said anything.

"Good. Open her up!" The last part was to another guard, before turning back to the two as the door swung open, and they were shuffled in and the doors locked behind them. Unlike a lot of other Hold prisons, with many small cells, this place truly was a mine, where all prisoners were free to interact in one larger chamber. Given the fact that Lavi had met Allen under the circumstances of a bandit and he seemed to know his way around such rough places and people so far, he had the sinking feeling this situation boded ill for him more then it did the shorter white-haired male.

"So now what?"

"Now you can shut up and leave me be," Allen snarked, walking across the wood platform towards the dirt chamber where there was a fire and other prisoners. "And leave me alone for once. Its not as if I'm going anywhere, after all, so you can stop playing _guard dog_."

Lavi grunted annoyance and walked after him. For one reason or another, he didn't really believe Allen was going to simply roll over and accept imprisonment without at least _trying _to uncover an escape of some kind. Perhaps he was wrong about that, but it would probably hurt more than help to let the lad out of his sight.

Off the wood platform leading into the mind, the soil was at least pleasantly loose underfoot to walk on. In the main chamber near the fire sat a thin, pale Breton, and a well-muscled Orc stood in front of a metal gate door slightly further in. The clink of pickaxes against stone echoed up from a corridor to the far left, but otherwise they didn't see any other inhabitants. Mostly, the Orc ignored them, though the Breton was quick to strike up conversation.

"What are you new-bloods in for?"

Allen smiled at him and sat down next to the fire, wasting no time in attempting to get to know his fellow inmates, and likely try to make some allies. He shrugged innocently enough, but his words betrayed the image. Lavi couldn't help but notice him deliberately sitting at an angle where he could effectively keep his strange arm from easy view.

"Take your pick. It could be a lot of different things."

"A habitual one, eh? You're quite young, and you seem a little too casual for this to be your first time," the man observed.

"I've seen the in and outside of a cell more than once, yes," Allen answered cryptically, maintaining a too-childlike mask of friendliness that clearly had the other man somewhat amused. "For a lot of different reasons."

"I see." The man looked to Lavi at this point, who was standing back and scrutinizing his surroundings more than the other two. "And what of you?"

Lavi glanced at the two, opening his mouth to answer, but Allen beat him to it.

"He's a pervert."

"_What?_" Lavi yelped, gaping. Allen only gave him a dark, cheeky smile of malice.

"He tried molesting me twice."

The redhead couldn't help but flush as he felt more than one pair of eyes on him, bristling hotly.

"Okay, _one_, lip contact doesn't count as molesting the way you're implying, and _two_, I was just trying to shut you up! It's not being a pervert when the difference is whether or not I would've been killed or tortured by your bandit cohorts because you wouldn't stop shouting!"

"Well, it doesn't really matter to me," the older prisoner stated. "Of course, if such is true, you just might like it here, assuming you can survive long enough to enjoy it. My advice? Serve your time at the pick and get out. You don't want to end up getting a shiv in the guts over a bottle of Skooma."

Lavi only flushed a deeper level of red and turned to face elsewhere, silently seething that damn white-haired imp and his lies.

"Is that the only way out is the serve the sentence?" Allen questioned, turning his attention back to the prisoner.

_And there it is_, Lavi noted, knowing that the other would end up coming to that topic eventually.

"We-ll, if you want to get out alive, anyway. The other way is, of course, to drop dead and have your body hauled out, but I don't assume that's the outcome you're looking for."

"Preferably not that way," Allen agreed.

"By the way-" Lavi broke in, finally managed to cool his head slightly. "Was anyone else brought in here before us? Someone by the name of Eltrys?"

"Nope. You two are the only ones," the man stated.

"We can probably expect that they killed him, then," Lavi predicted, Allen's face becoming troubled.

"Friend of yours?" the man guessed.

"Not really, but we were helping him with something. On a related note, is there someone named Madanach here?"

"If you're asking, that means you must be the new lifers. Tough luck, I guess you aren't getting out so easily after all, friends. Those guards sold you out for good," he speculated thoughtfully. "No one talks to Madanach, I'm afraid. Not without getting past Borkul the Beast..." he trailed off and motioned discreetly with his head towards the Orc with the skull-painted face guarding the gated door. "...and you don't want to talk to Borkul the Beast."

"And why's that?" Allen questioned carefully, being discreet about his glances so as not to bring the attention of the Orc onto them sooner than he had time to plan for how to handle him.

"You see that gate? It seperates Madanach from the rest. Borkul the Beast is his guard, making sure no one slips through. He's big, even for an Orc. 'heard he ripped a man's arm off and beat him to death with it." Allen couldn't help but pale slightly at the thought, especially since his strange limb tended to bring him bad luck. "He's old-fashioned like that."

"Is that what you call it?" Lavi snarked.

Leaving the subject of Madanach and Borkul alone again for now, Allen went on to ask, "What about things like beds and food in this place?"

"Oh, there are no beds. Sadly enough, all you'll get in this place is a pile of dirt... b-ut you'll get used to it before long. As for food, its whenever the guard shows up to feed us, but don't expect much. The food's as dry as the dust. The only good thing they'll bring is clean water to drink, but it becomes dull rather fast all the same."

Allen nodded, standing up and dusting himself off. "Well, thank you for the time and information."

Lavi followed as the white-haired lad went straight for the same Orc the Breton had warned them to stay well away from, hoping the white-haired lad wasn't going to start some kind of fight or problem. Especially not for him, as Allen had already tried to do once.

"The new meat," Borkul hummed aloud gruffly as he eyed Allen and Lavi, obviously thinking nothing of them. "So soft. _Tender_." He smirked a toothy smile that was bordering on patronizing. "What was it like killing your first one, huh?"

If Allen was affected by the Orc's puffed up demeanor and words, he didn't show it, still wearing that same disarming smile he used whenever he had a goal in mind.

"I wouldn't know. We're in here for other reasons."

Borkul gruffed, unconvinced. "For what? Petty thievery?"

"What I am or have done really isn't important," Allen derailed. "I need to talk to Madanach."

"You want to talk to the King in rags? Fine. But first you got to pay the toll," Borkul stated, crossing his arms. "How about you get me a shiv? Not that I need one, but its nice to have in case I need to do some _'shaving_'," he laughed menacingly.

"He's expecting me," Allen bluffed, but his smiling face didn't have the proper effect that he was obviously going for when the Orc man only rolled his eyes.

"The only thing Madanach expects is a bottle of Skooma in tribute every so often. You're not getting through."

Allen momentarily frowned, obviously weighing his options. He didn't look keen on starting a fight, which was good, but Lavi was still tense and ready for a potential fight just in case. At the very least, even though they didn't really have any weapons, he at least still had his fire spells, and Allen his claws. Even so, Borkul looked like someone who fully lived up to his reputation, and a fight was probably better off avoided.

"Alright," Allen heaved. "How can I obtain a shiv?"

"That dung heap Grisvar's been known to make a few. Maybe you can get one from him. Otherwise, you're on your own."

"Where can I find him?"

"How should I know? Just search around until you do. Its not as if there's very many people it could be," Borkul huffed irately, losing patience. Allen deemed it wise to make a tactful retreat and try his luck on his own, for which Lavi was grateful. Asking the first prisoner - Uraccen - harbored better results for figuring out who Grisvar was and where in the mine they might find him. It was really as simple as following the sounds of the pickaxes on stone.

Grisvar was an older man with dark, thinning hair and a bushy mustache, covered in dirt and face wrinkled with more than just age or stress, were Lavi to guess after a good look at the man.

"You're Grisvar, right?" Allen questioned, the man pausing in his pickaxe swings to regard the two newcomers.

"I am. Who might you be?"

"Allen," the whitette introduced politely. "I was told to find you. I need a shiv."

The man's weathered face brightened slightly with understanding. "Ah, protection. I can get you what you need," Grisvar rasped, a glint of motive in his eyes. "Though perhaps you can do something for me, first? Duach has a bottle of Skooma. Finest distilled Moon Sugar. I'm shaking just thinking about it."

So Lavi's suspicions were true then. Grisvar looked well into his years, but not as old as he appeared outwardly. His face sagged far more than could be accounted for by time alone. He was an addict.

Not that it was any surprise. Were he to guess, he would probably be right in thinking that Grisvar had become hooked on the drug, and either got arrested on that alone - considering Skooma was illegal - or he had turned to crime to fuel buying his habit, and got caught and imprisoned for it.

From the unpleasant glance of Allen's eyes, Lavi guessed that Allen had suspected similar and didn't like the idea of fueling such a habit. All the same, he nodded.

"Where can I find this Duach?"

"Probably down one of the other tunnels. He's a large, dark fellow with a tattoo on his left eye... Forsworn, I believe. You can't miss him."

Allen turned on his heel and walked briskly. He and Lavi headed back through the main chamber and down another tunnel, though unlike the other, which had had at least two or three other guys and composed of narrow rocks, this passageway appeared wholly empty and much wider, made mostly of dirt. Allen was still making it a point to ignore the existence of the other, and Lavi couldn't help but feel slightly irritated by it. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing that they were out of sight of anyone else, and abruptly grabbed the white-haired male by the wrist, yanking him aside.

Allen let out an exclamation of surprise that was cut short as he was roughly pinned against a wall by his collar, met with a scowl from the one person he really hated more than anyone at the moment.

"Just what was all that about?" Lavi demanded, his voice controlled and level, but only forcibly so.

"Let go of me," Allen snapped. "Or I'm going to cry rape."

Lavi snorted condescendingly. "Trust me, in this kind of place, you don't want to." Allen only glared at him mutely. "Now answer me, will you?"

"Answer what?" Whether Allen sincerely didn't know or was merely playing ignorant, Lavi didn't really care.

"What that damn lie you told was about, that's what!" Lavi fumed. "Trying to say that I'm some perverted rapist or something!"

"Technically it was only a half lie," Allen deadpanned.

"No, it wasn't. It was an _all-_lie. I would never-"

"I don't know that," Allen cut off icily.

"Well I wouldn't," Lavi rebuked harshly. "So, there."

" _'So, there'_?" Allen raised his brows. "What are you, two?"

"I'm tryin' to make a point! I would never do something like that!" Lavi stated, forcing his voice level once more and his eye guarded against emotion.

"But you _did _force yourself on me," Allen pointed out, tone a low growl. "Your _'I was only trying to save my hide' _excuse only works for _one _of those times, and both times it was unwarranted and unwanted."

They stared at each other for a long moment, waiting for one or the other to break the silence, before Lavi sighed and let go, stepping away to face elsewhere.

"Look, I'm sorry, alright? I get it: I overstepped some boundaries that I shouldn't have. I don't expect to be forgiven or anything, but considering where we are, it'd be in both our better interests to at least put that aside until we can figure a way out of this damn place. That isn't going to happen, or at least less easily, if we're at each other's throats, so... truce? For now?"

Allen was silent, not moving to leave, and waiting for Lavi's patience to give out first and for him to get frustrated or upset and become hostile once more, but instead the other male just stood still as a statue facing the adjacent wall until Allen finally caved and spoke first.

"For now," he agreed reluctantly, turning and walking further down the tunnels as he'd first been intending. Lavi followed him in silence, but when Allen glanced back, he was still looking elsewhere, his expression entirely too blank to read. No matter how much he tried to see past the outer mask and catch hint of any underlying poker tells or emotion, Lavi's face was as unmoving as the surrounding rock, and he didn't try to break past the surface. Talking to Madanach and escaping was their priority for now. The rest, they could worry about later.


	24. No One Escapes Cidhna Mine

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Getting Skooma from the Duach guy in the tunnels was a lot easier than Allen had first predicted. He had thought that his task was going to end up turning into a run-around quest to fetch something for this one guy only to get another request to get something from another guy, but such wasn't the case, thankfully. Getting the Skooma from Duach was actually quite easy. Grisvar was more than happy to hand over the promised shiv for it, and Borkul had no problems stepping aside and letting them through the iron door once he had his 'toll' paid.<p>

The tunnel beyond was narrow and made of rock, lit by a couple of lanterns, while small ferns grew from the sides of the path. To their left, they passed a small, door-less cell with a bucket to be used as a bathroom, and another iron door to their right that separated them from another tunnel lined in bones leading deeper underground.

The room beyond was a dirt chamber with a rough wood floor, a bed, chest, couple of barrels, and a desk, where a man with hair white from age sat scribbling on a piece of parchment with a quill and ink. The man didn't look up from what he was doing, but spoke to both of them none the less.

"Well, well... look at you two. Your kinsmen, the _Nords, _have turned you into animals. Wild beasts caged up and left to go mad." He spat the word _Nords _like poison. "So, my fellow beasts, what do you want? Answers about the Forsworn? Revenge for trying to have you killed?"

"I just want to get out of here," Allen stated.

"Freedom, eh? Though even were you to escape, your name would still be tainted with all that blood."

"My name was already tainted long before you got to it," Allen assured. "Most of it because of people like you."

Lavi glanced at Allen in curiosity. Madanach did the same.

"_People like me_?" Madanach repeated in prompt.

"People who commit unsavory acts and then scapegoat others with what you've done," Allen clarified, unwavering.

"Is that so? But scapegoated reputations only go so far, and you don't survive places like this or get past my guard without knowing your way around such _unsavory _people quite well."

Allen smiled cheekiness. "Well I did say _most _of it. The only crimes I'm guilty of is winning at a gambler's table."

Madanach surveyed the boy carefully before barking a small laugh. "You mean _cheating_."

"I mean winning," Allen corrected, though there was a knowing look shared between their eyes.

Madanach's eyes wandered down to Allen's arm at this point, only now noticing it. He grimaced before quickly dashing the expression, turning back to his writing and taking his eyes off both of them.

"Well, it doesn't matter in here. You're one of us now, you see? A slave. The boot of your kinsmen stepping on your throat. Maybe if you understood that, I could help you."

"I already know that the Silver-bloods are corrupt. I don't need to be made to understand that," Allen told him patiently.

"Knowing and _knowing _are not one and the same. You wouldn't be in here for asking questions if you knew the full extent of what was happening."

Allen pursed his lips thoughtfully, then replied, "And you wouldn't know that unless you had connections to the outside, which means either having solid informants all the way up the chain, or knowing how to get in and out."

"We-ll, we-ll, aren't you the sharp one?" Madanach admired for a moment. "Especially for one so young." Lavi couldn't help but silently agree, mildly impressed. Just how good at navigating underground webs was he? Then again, from what he'd said before, Allen had a long history with bandit-kind. "You still only know part of what you need to, though."

Allen huffed. "Alright, so what else do I need to know?"

"There's a man named Braig inside these mines. Besides me, he's been here the longest. Tell him I sent you. Ask him why he's here. I want you to know how widespread the injustice of Markarth is."

"Why can't you simply tell me?"

"Not my story to tell," Madanach answered simply. "When you're done talking to him, come back and see me."

Allen pursed his lips again and turned to exit the tunnels, asking for where Braig could be found, which was in a deeper, dead-end tunnel past where Grisvar and another man worked. Braig was another older Forsworn, skin turned grey from lack of sun and face haggard with age and an unkempt mustache that reached his jawline, giving him the appearance of an even bigger frown than he had on his lips.

"What do you want?" the man barked sourly, hefting a pickaxe into stone. "I have digging to do."

"Madanach told us to come and talk to you, and find out about the corruption going on in Markarth," Lavi provided.

Braig stopped at the next strike of his pick and stared at them a moment. "My story, huh? Everyone in Cidhna Mine has a tale. Let's hear yours first. When was the first time you two felt chains on your wrists?"

Allen cracked a bitter smile. "Well that's really a matter of what you mean by that. First time wasn't by guards, but it wasn't by outlaws either. The old hag in Riften's orphanage liked to clap _misbehavers _in irons on the wall before beating them bloody." He paused to briefly hold up his clawed arm for the man to glance. "Or just for existing a little different from everyone else. I've always been in trouble whether I did something or not."

"Then you know the hard looks as judgment gets set upon you," the man sympathized, his eyes lingering on Allen's arm a little too long, though it was hard to detect what he felt about it beyond the weariness in his eyes. "The sneers of others who have never had to face sentence. You mentioned an orphanage, but you have any family? Anyone waiting for you on the outside?"

Allen paused to ponder that. He knew he didn't have family waiting for him, certainly not. What of friends, though? Kanda didn't seem to care for him, but for some reason the man had volunteered to go along with them. Lenalee, though, seemed to have taken at least somewhat of a liking to him, unless she was simply friendly with everyone. His Master certainly wasn't waiting for him anywhere, seeing as the man had run off without a word and no amount of searching could find him. He wasn't sure he'd say that he and the bandits he had been with for some time were family or friends, they had simply been mutuals looking to survive the harsh elements, and helping each other was easier than killing.

"I have a horse," he settled on, finally. "I don't know if that counts, but he's been my most faithful friend for at least a few years. I had a father once, too, but not anymore."

"And what of you?" Braig questioned, turning his sights on Lavi. The redhead blinked for a moment before shrugging.

"First time for me. I was just tagging along with this guy-" he thumbed towards Allen. "-while he was snooping around town and got myself dragged in with him. Other than that, I'm actually a lawful citizen."

Allen merely snorted and rolled his eyes, ignoring a look of warning from Lavi, but the whitette held his tongue.

"So was I. I had a daughter once," Braig continued his own story, his voice becoming choked with unbridled pain. "She'd be 23 this year. Married to some hot-headed silver worker or maybe on her own learning the herb trade. The Nords didn't care who was or who wasn't involved in the Forsworn Uprising. I had spoken to Madanach _once_. That was enough. But my little Aethra didn't want to see her Papa leave her. She pleaded to the Jarl to take her instead," he went on, his voice becoming steadily more broken and bordering on manic as tears filled his eyes. "After they made me watch as her head rolled off the block, they threw me in here anyway, to dig up their silver."

Allen's eyes went wide in horror, his own throat seizing before he could even offer up a sympathetic apology for what happened to the man, helplessly glancing at Lavi. Where Braig was bordering on balling like an infant, and he himself was in too much shock over the recollection to speak, Lavi looked carefully guarded and apathetic, not moved at all, and Allen couldn't help but bristle inwardly.

Did the guy really feel _nothing _at all? How could he possibly be so damn _cold_?

"That's awful," Allen finally managed, forcing his attention back to Braig despite that he almost felt like planting a good fist in Lavi's face. "I'm sorry."

"My daughter is the only one who needs your pity. I'm just a poor Forsworn whose only regret is not killing more Nords before I was locked up. Anyway, I'm done with my story. I'm sure you'll want to be getting back to Madanach now that I've told you."

Allen bore a conflicted expression for a moment, thought better of it, and nodded, turning back down the tunnels. When they neared Madanach's room again, Allen stopped halfway down the stone hall, Lavi almost bumping into him.

"Why'd you stop?"

"What are people to you?" Allen questioned abruptly, watching Lavi tilt his head to the side slightly. "I saw you, after Braig told his story. You didn't even flinch. In fact, you just looked bored. Not to mention, when we got in here, you said all the murders going on in Markarth weren't anything worth your attention."

"Shit happens," Lavi shrugged, nonchalant.

"Shit ha-?"

Allen couldn't even continue, his voice dying in shock at such blatant disregard. These were people's _lives _being lost, and all he could say was, _shit happens_?! His prickling anger turned to boiling disgust in the pit of his stomach. Even when women were being murdered in the streets and children were being beheaded by Jarls with racist grudges? And that was all the redhead had to say about it.

The younger's eyes hardened into a withering glare, numerous choice words itching on the tip of his tongue, but he choked them down and instead started marching towards Madanach's room again, suddenly feeling very claustrophobic in the narrow confines of the tunnel they stood in.

"You know what? Never mind."

Within moments, they had returned to Madanach's quarters, the man looking up and snapping, "You're back. Have you done what I asked?"

"We talked with Braig," Allen stated, blowing out a breath to calm his head, both after hearing what had happened, and even more by Lavi's reaction to these people's suffering. Madanach's demeanor relaxed slightly after he met Allen's eyes.

"Imagine hearing a story like that, over and over," Madanach said. "Each time a different family. Each time a different injustice. This was our land. We were here first. Then the Nords came and put chains on us. Forbid us from worshipping our gods. Some of us refused to bow. We knew the old ways would lead us back to having a kingdom of our own. That is who we are. The Forsworn. Criminals in our own lands. And we will cut a bloody hole into the Reach until we are free. I had Markarth. My men and I drove the Nords out. We had won, or so we thought. Retribution was swift. I was captured, quickly tried, and sentenced to death. But my execution never came. Thonar Silver-Blood stopped it. He wanted the Forsworn at his call, that I would point their rage at his enemies and spare his allies. And I have. Humiliating at first, but I knew he would let his guard down eventually. That he would come to trust I was under control. Your meddling above ground reminded me of how removed I've been from the struggle," Madanach admitted somberly. "My men and I should be in the hills, _fighting_."

"So you're going to help us escape?" Allen questioned tentatively.

"Yes, but I need a show of loyalty from you. I don't need a shiv in the back when we break out."

"Hold on, we never said anything about joining up," Lavi pointed out. "Wanting a mutual escape ain't enough?"

"No, it isn't," Madanach snapped.

"So what do we have to do?" Allen broke in quickly, wanting to keep things peaceful.

"Have you met Grisvar the Unlucky?" Madanach asked, Allen nodding confirmation. "He's rightly named, and he's also a thief and a _snitch_. He's outlived his minor usefulness. Take care of him, and then we can leave Cidhna Mine for good."

"I'm not a murderer," Allen stated firmly. "I'm not going to kill someone I don't have to."

"Then I guess you won't be getting out," Madanach sneered. "Grisvar is a loose end who'll alert the guard if we don't get rid of him, and I can assure you the guard don't take kindly to jailbreakers."

"There could be other ways. Why not just knock him out, or take him with you and make sure he can't tell? I'm sure he would want to get out just as badly as the rest of you."

"The only way you're getting out is if you side with us, otherwise, there's no deal."

Allen narrowed his eyes and lunged without warning, grabbing the man by the collar against the table, ignoring a bark of alarm from Lavi.

"I won't kill him just for your satisfaction. Hearing about someone else's tragedies or injustice won't change my mind. Its wanton murder and I won't stand for that. End of story."

"Get off me!" Madanach hissed, easily shoving Allen away with his larger weight.

Allen made no moves to go after the man again, and shot a glare at Lavi as the redhead reached a hand out to touch him, making the other stop and withdraw his hand before he could make contact.

"Unless you want me to sic the rest of my Forsworn compatriots on you and freeze you into a block of ice, I suggest you leave. There is no deal anymore."

"Fine!" Allen spat, whirling around and marching out. "I don't want it anyway."

Lavi glanced between them before quickly leaping to follow Allen, who stopped just beyond Madanach's room at the iron gate. Lavi raised a brow and was about to speak, but a quick, glaring glance silenced him as Allen fumbled with a key and unlocked the door, swinging it open.

_When did he-?_

It seemed Madanach had just come to the same realization as Lavi heard a bark of alarm from the man and Allen rushed into the tunnel, Lavi close behind without needing to be told. A spike of ice exploded on the wall next to the closing door as Allen slipped his arm through and locked it again, trying to retreat. Madanach was quicker and grabbed a hold of his arm, yanking hard and making Allen's head slam against the bars and the teen slump.

"No one escapes Cidhna Mine! Not without _me_! You hear that? _No one!_" Madanach bellowed.

"Back off!" Lavi growled and ignited flames into his palm, blasting the man with them and ignoring the surprised scream as Madanach leapt away and into the dirt, rolling to be rid of the flames.

The key was still wedged into the key hole and he made sure it was locked to keep the man and his other goonies out.

Allen groaned and shook his head to clear it as Lavi grabbed him under the arm and hoisted the younger back to his feet, tugging him along.

"Come on. We don't want to still be here when Madanach recovers and tries to sic his dogs after us."

Allen stumbled along after him without complaints, unsteadily slipping down the loose dirt path that arched downward and around a sharp corner.

"You could have just kept going without me, you know," Allen pointed out softly, the echo of continuous chipping by pickaxes on stone fading behind them steadily, as well as angry shouting.

"Yeah, well... I could have done a lot of shitty things if I'd wanted to," Lavi returned as they kept going, stepping over rubble and iron shovels turned red with rust, finding a Dwarven door further in. "Let's just hope that Madanach guy doesn't ever get out to come after us."

"He might not need to," Allen pointed out with a frown. "He already has connections in Markarth enough to potentially send us back, or just have us assassinated."

"We'll just have to be careful," Lavi shrugged, pushing the doorway open and peaking his head out, seeing more crumbling tunnels beyond. "If we're quick and we can reach the others in Understone Keep, we can probably avoid a problem long enough to leave this damn place with limbs in tact and outfitted with nice armor from Komui and Johnny to boot. Don't forget that."

"Don't remind me," Allen snorted, still unsure of what to think of that.

The room they entered was old, but still somewhat intact, scattered with various items and cylindrical cages of Dwarven metal around odd torches that emitted dim green flames to light the passageways. In the darkness, they could only barely make out mural-carved walls, but only gave them a glance as they continued further into the ruins, which turned once more into natural tunnels of earth and stone, then a hybrid between the two, and then fully preserved Dwemer tunnels beyond that.

"Hear that?" Lavi whispered. "Working Dwemer machinery."

"Is that good or bad?" Allen questioned.

"Depends. It might be nothing, but we might also have to look out for automatons up ahead. Spiders, Spheres... maybe even Centurions."

"You sure seem to know your way around a Dwemer ruin," Allen noticed.

"I read a lot," Lavi dismissed with a shrug.

Steam poured up from grates on the side of the path, making a thick veil of white and creating low visibility, but they mostly ignored it and pressed onward, extending their other senses for signs of danger.

"So that stuff you said back there... about being pinned for a whole bunch of crimes?"

"Well I wasn't lying, if that's what you think," Allen stated, matter-of-fact.

"So what happened?" Lavi probed.

Allen sighed audibly. "It's my Master's fault, mainly. He took me in after my adoptive father died, and promptly made my life Oblivion trying to clean up his debts and pacify the collectors he earned after living a long, fulfilling life of buying up everything he couldn't afford everywhere he went."

"So how much does he owe?" Lavi couldn't help but ask.

"More coin than exists in the Emperor's treasury, I can assure you of that."

"Ouch," Lavi hummed bluntly. He jumped as Allen smacked him hard in the side of the arm. "What was that for?!"

"For you and your damn minimalistic reactions," Allen snapped. "Seriously, what is it with you?"

"Occupational hazard," Lavi said, shrugging.

Allen couldn't help but raise his brows. "What occupation?" When Lavi was silent for several beats too long, Allen narrowed his eyes, his voice edging into a tone of warning. "Lavi..."

"Historian."

"Last I checked, historians hole up in libraries pouring over books, not head off on some secret mission across three of the most treacherous northern regions to Windhelm under guard by a whole troupe of Legionnaires."

"I'm a field-historian," Lavi argued bluntly.

"That still doesn't explain-"

Both of them stopped as they stepped into white webs that crisscrossed the floor, freezing and listening for the sound of danger. There was a strange, fluttery gargling sound ahead and they untangled themselves from the ground to press against the wall and peer around the corner, spying a large dog-sized shape with spindly side-legs just ahead.

_Frostbite Spiders. Just our luck._

Without a word between them, they carefully crept around the far shadows of the wall, being careful how and where they stepped to avoid any webbing they would have to worry about pulling off or getting stuck on, hearing the grumbly chatter of the arachnid as they grew nearer. Lavi couldn't help but grimace at the revolting noise, every hair on his body standing up as they crept forward, his hand twitching and ready to ignite the creature with white hot fire as soon as a confrontation broke out.

Whether sensing or hearing them, the giant spider perked alertly, fanged mandibles glistening with venom. Figuring they weren't going to be able to sneak by unnoticed, he opted to get the upper hand first and gave the creature a nice face full of flames, hearing the oversized arachnid screech in agony and lung forward. Lavi scrambled back to avoid its fangs, but the webs covering the ground tripped him up and made him fall onto his back, pouring at more flames at the infuriated Frostbite Spider as he tried to unstick himself from the floor.

Just as it readied to sink its fangs into him, Allen leapt onto it from the side, plunging a shiv the redhead hadn't been aware he had through one of its eyes. The Frostbite Spider keened agony and pulled up short of biting down into Lavi, scuttling back and trying to swipe him off with its palpus'. Allen only ducked away from its swipes, swaying with the motions of the beast with perfect balance and retrieving the shiv from its eye, wedging it into the join of one of its many legs.

The spider screeched fury and tried bucking him off, partially scaling some of the walls. Allen leapt off, and Lavi - now untangled - blasted it with more fire. Giving in, the spider backpedalled away and scurried into the shadows and safety of its webs to elude them, deciding that retreat was more beneficial than continuing to fight and be wounded.

Neither of the two wasted time and ran past it, further towards the exit. Another sat in wait for them ahead, but it was off to the far left of a chamber on a torch-lit ledge, and keeping to the shadows, they were able to get by it unnoticed and into another narrow corridor of uneven rock.

"You could have just let the spider eat me, you know," Lavi pointed out, half-joking, but also partially not.

"I could have done a lot of shitty things," Allen returned with the faintest of smiles, Lavi returning it with one of his own.

Not far beyond was a larger, double-leveled room where two Dwarven Sphere's attacked them, both males running about and dodging attacks from the deadly machines that left them both with at least a few slashes from the sword-arms of the automatons. Allen got off somewhat easier, on account that he seemed primarily comfortable with hand-to-hand already anyway, but Lavi wasn't quite so practiced at it. He earned a moderate slash to his side before all was said and done, but nothing immediately life-threatening.

"Maybe I should invest in learning some healing spells once we get out," the redhead mused with a wince. On account that they didn't have any sort of potions either, he was going to simply have to tolerate the wound until they reached the end and hope it wasn't going to slow them down.

"Are you going to be okay?" Allen questioned, pausing as they walked up a dirt slope in yet another earthen chamber towards what was probably going to be yet another hall leading into yet _another _chamber.

"Define _okay_. We might have very different definitions."

Allen merely rolled his eyes. "You must be fine if you're still cracking stupid jokes like that," he concluded.

Just their luck, there was a door ahead, and with the key that Allen had managed to pickpocket off Madanach, it opened up straight into the streets of Markarth.

"Oh, Gods be praised! We made it out alive!" Lavi heaved.

"Let's not count our chickens before they hatch," Allen advised, staring ahead. Lavi glanced up and couldn't help but frown as they saw Thonar Silverblood and a handful of others with him, marching to meet the two, and with nowhere for them to run except perhaps back into the tunnels and prison they'd only just escaped from. "We might not have."


	25. Small Favors

**A/N:** I know I don't answer a lot of your guy's reviews ^^; but I do appreciate every single one!(I'm very socially inept, I never know what to say back).

But anyway, thank yous go out to karina001, Cutiepie120048, Snowneko13, Kusabiishi, Screeching Harmony, candy crackpot, DoodleDear, kurie-tibiti, Twispa, WhiteWhisperingWind, Seraphinit, Baltimore, Will of the Abyss, midnighthuela, and Shiro715 for all your wonderful reviews!

And also of course to everyone else who faves/follows/reads but doesn't review. You guys are all awesome too ;3

I'm glad all of you like this story so far!

* * *

><p><strong>Best Laid Plans<br>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover**

* * *

><p>Turned out, for one reason or another, Thonar had no intention of sending Allen and Lavi back to Cidhna Mine, nor did he plan on having them slaughtered on the spot for escaping. He almost seemed glad that they had escaped, even though he had been the one to send them there in the first place. As a matter of fact, it appeared he had <em>expected <em>it.

Their snooping around town and causing a stir had given Thonar both insight into some loose ends within "his" city and incentive to pursue them. He almost seemed disappointed that Madanach had not tried to escape with them, but otherwise pleased to hear they had swiped his key that would allow such escape, and now Madanach had no back doors to access, which left him trapped like an ill-prepared rat.

Thonar even had all of their things that had been confiscated while they were thrown into jail returned in exchange for the key they'd swiped, and sent along their merry way with a pardon from the Jarl. The first one to greet them when they made it back to Understone Keep was - perhaps predictably - Lenalee.

"Allen! Lavi! You're both alright!" the Imperial girl gasped, running and throwing herself at both of them. "I was worried about you both!"

"Lenalee..."

"We're fine," Allen placated, looking a little more uncomfortable at the contact, but also somewhat glad to see the girl again and that he seemed to be missed. "You don't have to worry."

"We-ll, mostly fine," Lavi said, thinking on his wound from the Sphere blade to his side. Lenalee glanced them over and spotted the scratches, furrowing her brows.

"I'll get both of you a potion to heal you right up," she promised, spinning on her heel and dashing off. The next to greet them was Komui, while Kanda sat somewhere off to the side, looking as though he couldn't care less.

"I hear both of you had quite the misadventure..." Komui hummed, likewise looking them over and taking in their disheveled appearances, but seeming relieved.

"You could call it that," Allen replied.

"Well, I'm glad both of you made it out. Lenalee and Kanda returned as soon as both of you were arrested and told me what happened. Seems you caused a stir that wasn't taken too well by those with special interests in this city..."

"Did you know about what was happening?" Allen couldn't help but ask, somewhat paranoid of the answer. Komui stared at him levelly, wise to what Allen was implying.

"I know that there's a great deal of corrupt practices when it comes to politics, some worse than others, and Markarth is no exception to this. Make waves too large too quickly, though... well, you saw what happened for yourself. With the proper finesse though, sometimes small, insistent ripples push things where they need to go."

Allen nodded understanding, a certain sense of relief washing over him at the man's words. At least it didn't appear - from what he could tell anyway - that Komui was in support of the Silver-bloods and the guards that worked for them. Getting in the way of powerful people's goals or desires, however, could be outright dangerous. Passive persuasion was much more effective than open rebellion, and it appeared that Komui knew this well enough.

"I'm sure, after the ordeal you've both had, that some good food would likely be appreciated."

Allen couldn't help but light up at the mere mention of it, having been so focused on surviving and escape that he'd almost forgotten food entirely.

"Yes, please!" he said, a little too eagerly, he realized afterwards, flushing slightly. Komui merely smiled amusement and led them to where they could change first and then eat and relax by the stream that cut through Understone Keep's ruins. Lavi recounted everything that happened to the others - well, _almost _everything, but Allen decided not to bring a few details up either - while he mostly sat off to the side and listened.

Sleep and proper beds were a godsend to the whitette after having gone so long without, between traveling, prison, traveling, then being thrown in prison a second time, even if it _was _under guard. Otherwise, they were very accommodating, and willing to give it all free. On account that he was certain it had to do with the fact that he was Dragonborn though, he wasn't quite sure how to feel about it.

Should be feel happy, or annoyed? Would they even give a damn if it weren't for that? Likely not. People changed their attitudes about people when there was something in it for them, he knew that all too well. In this case, the gain was not being killed by dragons, while throwing him out to complete the task of doing as much.

Suffice to say, after about a week passed, he was very hard-pressed to refuse what Johnny had made for him.

The helmet was the color of pearls and steel, not too large but covering the eyes and nose, more closely akin to a mask. The eye-holes were sealed but with the thinnest layer of malachite glass that only tainted his vision with the faintest green hue, almost unnoticeable. The body armor appeared to be made of the same pearl Moonstone and steel, but it was still surprisingly light, stitched together with an under-layer of leather for protection and black cloth above for aesthetic. If that wasn't enough, they'd even made him a new fur cloak, with a thicker collar of fur to keep his neck warm, and longer than his last. That was nice in and of itself, but on the inside of the pelt cloak was a layer of checker-stitched thick cloth like that he only saw on fine clothes for the wealthy, more than suited to keep him nice and toasty even in the most frigid of Skyrim's climates. It was truly some of the nicest artistry he had ever seen put into a set of armor in his entire life. It would almost be a sin to wear and use it instead of display it in a museum or behind a display case.

"This-... this is all too much," Allen mumbled, feeling put-on-the-spot and overwhelmed by the level of craftsmanship and generosity. Komui and Johnny only beamed at him as if they'd received a compliment from the Divines themselves, and he had no idea how to argue them down from the level of pleasure they got from his reaction.

Having been standing with his hands behind his back, Johnny stepped forward and scratched the side of his face bashfully, flushing.

"Hey, Allen? Hold out your arm for me, would you? The left one, I mean..."

Allen blinked, hesitating out of habitual wariness, before tentatively lifting his arm. Johnny smiled and slipped a glove and full sleeve over his deformed arm, messing with the fingers to get them fitted properly and tying the top of the sleeve to a piece of his armor just above the shoulder to keep it from falling. Looking at it more closely, he realized that it was designed to cover but still keep his claws free through small, stitched slits at the end. It even made the claws look like a part of the glove, rather than his own personal deformity.

"I-I know it bugs you, other people seeing it and all, but Lavi and Kanda told me that you use it to fight too, so I thought it'd make things easier if you could use it properly without having to worry about hiding it or keeping it hidden all of the time. If it doesn't fit properly or anything, just let me know, alright?"

Allen could only stare at him for a few moments in shock before smiling genuine gratitude as he fully inspected the level of care that had gone into that piece as well.

"Thank you..."

Johnny only smiled before he and his fellows went about making sure the others three were prepared and outfitted for their journey as well, the mutual decision being that they would set out the next morning after proper food and rest. It would be a long journey from Markarth to High Hrothgar, even on horseback.

Sitting at dinner, everyone else appeared to be in good spirits. Kanda merely sat off to the side of the room, near the door. Whether it was because he didn't trust Allen not to flee on his own or he merely wanted nothing to do with the festivities, it was difficult to tell. Everyone else chattered sociably, and Allen answered or replied as was needed and stayed silent when no one demanded a certain answer from him.

Even despite high spirits, he couldn't quite share them. The friendliness and generosity that Komui, Johnny, and everyone else felt bittersweet to him. It wasn't as though he didn't want to enjoy their company, but how could he, when they wouldn't enjoy his without being what they thought he was? If they had never learned what he was, if _he _had never learned what he was, there was no doubt in his mind that they simply wouldn't care for him.

They would spare no such thoughts to who he was or what he wanted, they would have simply let him die at the headsman's block. They barely seemed to spare the thought now, trying to force him into the roll of the fabled monster-slaying Dragonborn without asking him if he wanted it or not.

He wasn't really sure _what _he wanted to do, if anything at all. On the same note, could he just let innocent people get slaughtered, burned, and terrorized _without _doing anything about it, when he had the power to do so?

"You don't look like you're enjoying yourself very much," Komui noted, drawing Allen out of his thoughts. The man gave him a concerned look. "Something on your mind?"

Allen pursed his lips, looking elsewhere and pondering whether or not to admit to what he was thinking.

"This is all very nice of you, but... I feel like its just..." he trailed off, not sure how to continue without becoming rude, trying to figure out the best wording. "Are you only doing all of this because of my supposedly being Dragonborn?" The chatter was falling silent, the others watching him and making the teen suddenly second-guess speaking his mind. "I mean, none of you even really _know_, its simply a hunch at this point, and yet you're going to great lengths to go above and beyond what it feels like you'd ever do for me if it turned out I wasn't."

"Hm... well perhaps you aren't. I can't really say. It does appear that there _are _dragons running amok, however, and it appears as if you're going along with it even if it turns out that you might not be." Allen remained silent and Komui continued. "Dragonborn or not, we live in some very dangerous times, between living myths and civil war. If you intend on going to High Hrothgar, and maybe fighting dragons anyway of your own accord, what sort of person would I be to see little more than a child off to such perils without making sure they're as protected and prepared as can be? I think I'd be worse than a person who would only help you because of believing in some old fairy tail, don't you?" Komui questioned, smiling.

Allen looked uncertain, glancing between the others. Johnny and Lenalee smiled and nodded the same at him, backing up Komui's words.

"Besides," Lenalee added. "Dragonborn or not, it doesn't mean we can't get to know each other, right? You seem very nice to me, Allen, and maybe that's the circumstance that we met under, but it gave us the chance to maybe become friends that we wouldn't have otherwise had."

"I guess so..." Allen hummed, feeling slightly better. His eyes briefly lingered over Lavi, but the redhead didn't appear to have anything to say, merely offering him a shrug that was more disheartening than the white-haired male thought it would be, his eyes hardening for a moment, before he tore them away. "Sorry, I guess I'm just not used to this sort of thing."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that," Komui laughed faintly. "But over time, I'm sure it won't seem so strange to you."

"Yeah," Allen returned, indulging more readily into dinner and drink, fancying the idea of finding a place of normalcy and acceptance that he wasn't sure he'd ever felt before, even though he was hard-pressed to believe it. "I do hope so."

* * *

><p>Allen was surprised to find that, even though he and Lavi had given Thonar the key from Madanach, the door to the Markarth Ruins tunnel was still unlocked and easily accessible. Even though it had been a week, there didn't appear to be any effort to seal the exit off. Probably Thonar felt assured of victory.<p>

Even though he had gone through the tunnel once before, it was still an unnerving place and he kept his senses alert for danger. He was happy to find that the door between Madanach's room and the tunnels was still in-tact, rather than sealed up.

"Madanach!" he called in a hushed voice. "Madanach!"

He heard movement and an angry hum. "I know that voice!" Madanach growled before appearing, Allen taking a step back, so as not to repeat being slammed against the bars. Now he was sporting a very fine few scars from Lavi's flames that he didn't have before, and perhaps a few other wounds that couldn't be accounted for from their escape attempt. "What do _you _want here? Come to gloat about your victory, you _Nord _spy?! Come to rub it in my face that you thwarted my plans so effortlessly? You, a _child_?" the Forsworn leader sneered. "I see they even decorated you up with fancy armor after you pulled that nasty trick on me!"

"I came to return this," Allen stated, fishing the key from his pocket and holding it up. Madanach's eyes gleamed with conflicted bitterness and disbelief.

"You can't honestly be serious?"

"I'm not _in _with the Silver-bloods, they aren't friends of mine. I just needed a way out, and I got it. This key belongs to you, though. Don't mistake me, its not the show of loyalty you wanted, and I'm not doing it for that reason. I'm just doing it out of decency."

"_Decency_!" Madanach laughed. "Is that what you call it?"

"I don't really care what you think of me," Allen stated, tossing the key to the dirt at Madanach's feet, then turning on his heel. "I'm leaving Markarth in only a couple of hours. You have your key back. Whatever you do with it, that's the business of you and your guys."

The older man watched the white-haired lad disappear into the tunnels, then bent down to pick up the key, checking it with the lock to make sure it really was the proper one and not a dud. The satisfying click caused him to smile with reluctant gratitude as he re-secured the door and readied his own preparations to escape imprisonment.

"Interesting lad, that Allen Walker... for a _Nord_."


	26. Misunderstandings

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Allen, Kanda, Lavi, and Lenalee all left at the first light of dawn. Allen was actually somewhat surprised to find out Lenalee was going to be making the trek with them, especially considering Komui seemed so protective, but even Komui himself saw them off at the gates and had no (open) objections.<p>

After Lavi tried to get a little too friendly with him, Allen gave him the cold shoulder and reminded with a smile that didn't reach all the way that their truce from the mine had been _temporary _at best and that truce was now over. Whatever he had been hoping for, Allen wasn't even sure, but for some reason the shallow shrug and disregard bothered him as Lavi acted like it was nothing at all and he simply did not care either way.

They followed the road which flanked the river heading east.

At one point they encountered a random Khajiit that seemed to find it wise to attack the four. Turned out, he was wrong, and after a dire threat of death from Kanda's blade, the feline-person went skulking off to lick his wounds and injured pride. Wild hares crossed their path to bolt for cover at one point, spooking the horses, and further down they passed a pair of farmers whose houses had been destroyed by a dragon and were walking to Markarth.

Just beyond Karthwasten was a massive bridge over rapids and a gorge. The entire way, Allen and Lenalee talked, occasionally even managing to coax Kanda into saying a thing or two. Lavi was the only one to remain silent as they went, riding at the rear and occupying his attention with a book instead of indulging in socializing. Allen was glad of it, though every so often his eye would wander over his shoulder, as if expecting a different result each time other than being entirely ignored by the redhead.

Just as they crested the top of a hill between two steep walls of rock on either side, Kanda stopped and the others followed his lead, looking up at the crumbling tower of an old fort just ahead, just as it began to sprinkle with rain.

"Why'd you stop?" Allen asked.

"Forsworn camp, inside of that fort. The road goes by too close to simply sneak around. I've heard of the ambushes that are set up here."

"We could always double back and take a different road," Lavi suggested, not looking up from his book. "Or just ride through as quickly as possible and leave them in our dust."

"We could take them," Kanda gruffed, sounding as though he was silently weighing his options. "But it'd probably be better to avoid a conflict."

"Probably," Lavi mused, while Allen nodded his agreement.

In the end, they ran past on horseback, with only one Forsworn woman guarding the road trying to stop them. After they got far enough ahead that the woman gave up, they came to a halt, the light sprinkling of rain ceasing already and the sun poking out of the clouds at their backs. A wolf attacked them later down the road and met its untimely end, so they had it and a small mountain goat the beast had recently killed slung over the backs of their horses.

Further on, corpses of slain soldiers lined the side of the road, and Allen refused to move on without giving them proper burial, which led to an argument, which Allen won with using the fact that he was Dragonborn as leverage, that they could either go on without him or indulge his wishes and help. After much back-and-forth choice words and stubbornness, they gave in. By the time they were done, they had made six graves and night was upon them.

They camped not far and spent a good portion of the night around a fire, skinning the wolf and goat that they caught and using what they could out of it. Some they simply tossed, letting a few opportunistic scavengers - a Skeever, a fox, and even a young sabre at one point - take what they didn't use and run off with it. Allen was last to wake the morning after, with Kanda simply waiting on the rest, and Lavi and Lenalee quietly chatting off to the side.

Allen didn't say anything to alert anyone he was awake at first, merely watching. Lavi was relaxed, leaning his back against a boulder, as he grinned and did most of the talking, with Lenalee sitting at his side and leaning against him comfortably with a small, genuine smile. The redhead leaned over to whisper something in her ear Allen couldn't catch and she gasped, smacking him in the chest and scolding him about whatever he said being a bad idea, though she was unable to contain a smile regardless.

"A hundred gold says you wouldn't even get close," Lenalee told him.

"Ye of little faith! Don't underestimate what I can and can't do," Lavi returned with a beaming smile.

"Lavi, no! You know better!"

"Do I?" He smiled wider, looking almost as if his face would split in half.

"Come on, don't start something... not even as a joke! Besides, he'd see you coming a mile away!"

"Nah, he wouldn't! He didn't even notice that time I braided his hair until I was already done!" Lavi said, his voice noticeably lower. Not enough to escape attention, though.

"_Rabbit_! You come anywhere _near _my hair, I'll skin you alive!" Kanda snapped.

"What?" Lavi squawked, playing the part of the innocent thrown under the wagon. "Who said we were talking about hair? Much less _your _hair? Don't be so paranoid, Yuu!"

"Don't call me that!" Kanda snarled, lunging and drawing his blade. Lavi sprang to his feet, Lenalee having the sense to move away the moment before, and dashed around the campsite with the black-haired swordsman spitting and cursing obscenities, before the two disappeared down the hill entirely. Allen only blinked and sat up, staring after them and waiting to see them reappear, but all he managed to get was the distance-fading sound of angry curses and placating yelps.

"Good morning!" Lenalee greeted, looking apologetic and staring after the two for a moment, before looking at Allen properly. "Sorry, I hope we didn't wake you."

"Not at all," Allen returned, sitting up and stretching fully. "Are they always like that?"

Lenalee sighed. "Lavi likes to tease because he knows it annoys Kanda, but he's really harmless." Allen was less convinced of that. "They might not look like it on the surface sometimes, but they are friends, they just won't say it openly."

"So he's not going to skin him after all? Now that's a shame," Allen mused.

Lenalee gave him a hurt look. "Why do you dislike him so much? Lavi's a really nice person if you take the chance to know him."

"Anyone can be nice when it suits them," Allen told her bluntly. "The difference between nice and _kind _is being good to people when there isn't an ulterior motive behind it. So far he's only been the former. He's been looking out for himself and nothing more."

"I think you misunderstand him," Lenalee argued gently. "Just... give him more of a chance, okay? Lavi is-"

"C'mon Yuu!" Lavi yelped, appearing again from the road, having run all the way around the pointed hill of stone overshadowing their camp site and doubled back toward it, with the ravenette still hot in pursuit. "Learn to take a joke! Lay off!"

"How about you lay _down _instead and let me gut you!" Kanda seethed, both looking disheveled and out of breath but still unwilling to admit defeat.

Lenalee sighed and stood, taking that as her cue to play peacemaker and stepping between it. "Both of you, knock it off! Lavi, stop picking on him, and Kanda, put your sword away!"

"_Che_."

"Hey, I wasn't doing any-"

Lenalee shot Lavi a look of warning, the redhead falling deathly silent and looking like a scolded, misbehaving puppy.

_Friends, huh? _Allen couldn't help but doubt silently. _Friends my butt. He's just looking to antagonize anyone he can get away with doing it to._


	27. Busybody

**Best Laid Plans  
>A D Gray-Man and Skyrim Crossover<strong>

* * *

><p>Lavi and his group were learning something about Allen very quickly the longer they kept traveling. That being, that the white-haired lad was a creature of habit. His particular habit? The tendency to stick his neck out for just about any and everyone he came across that appeared in need of a helping hand, whether or not there was reward in it.<p>

Already he convinced an innkeeper to allow his adult son to leave behind farming to adventure the lands as he wished, and a young girl some techniques on defending herself from a beating against her twin sister, in Rorikstead. On the road, he helped stave off a pack of wolves that attacked another traveler. Another he helped with a broken wagon wheel. Another he saved from a pack of Skeever and let him ride Timcanpy with him to Whiterun on account of a maimed leg.

Of course all of that generous good-will didn't end in Whiterun by a long-shot.

One woman owning a stall in the market complained of a bard who refused to leave her alone, talking of romantic conquest, so Allen persuaded the man to stop harassing her.

Another woman talked of wanting to train to be a trader under the leader of the Khajiit caravan camped just outside the city, but had to bring them a mammoth's tusk before she would be accepted. Allen, of course, made sure she got one, all at great inconvenience to the rest of his traveling companions.

The one after that was an old woman and warrior from House Grey-Mane, talking about a member of their house that was fighting for the Stormcloaks and mysteriously went missing, assumed dead, but believed to really have been captured by the Imperials. Turned out, upon investigating the House of Clan Battle-Born - their rivals - they were right about their family member being alive and had the information they needed to go and free them.

Lavi thought it should have ended there, but unfortunately it didn't as the white-haired male insist he help a man in town retrieve a sword that belonged to his father that his wife forbade him to go after, which rested in a bandit den just north of the city. The redhead expected Kanda to be in support of him to drop such a pointless quest so they could continue to head east to the Throat of the World, but much to his surprise, Kanda was not only okay with it, he _encouraged _it, on account he had some mysterious business all of a sudden that he needed to take care of on his own.

The man basically chalked it up to _`a perfect waste of time to keep you idiots busy`_.

As far as Lavi was concerned, he got the "waste of time" part right, an opinion which Allen disputed no one asked for, which led to an argument, which Lenalee had to intervene before it could escalate. So they rode just north of Whiterun, on Allen's stubborn insistence, to a bandit dwelling called Halted Stream Camp.

When it came within view, they rode wide around it where they couldn't be seen, and located themselves on some cliffs overlooking the camp to get an idea of what they had to work with. Mostly it was just a log wall with some elevated platforms at the edges to watch the landscape for signs of danger and a rickety shack in the center where they were cutting up a dead mammoth.

"Should've gotten two birds with one stone with that mammoth tusk quest o' yours," Lavi kidded, earning a roll of the eyes from Allen.

"You're a genius," Allen harped sarcastically. "I'm sure they're just itching to give us one of theirs, along with that axe in the gut."

"No one asked for your sass, White-Cap," Lavi returned.

"That's _Allen _to you!"

"Whatever."

"Don't you _whatever _me!" Allen snapped.

"I just did."

"Keep this up and maybe I'll throw you down the cliff and into the bandit camp!"

"Keep your _voice _up and maybe they'll come on their own," Lavi warned.

"Guys, _quiet_. Lavi's right, they'll notice us before long if we don't keep our voices low."

"Idiot Lavi," Allen muttered under his breath.

"I heard that, and for the last time, I'm _not _an idiot!" the redhead hissed.

Lenalee merely sighed. Once again she had to silence them, and they agreed on waiting until nightfall, when they would sneak in and take the sword they needed. Kanda had said he would be at least a day, so they could get away with it without too many problems.

When night fell, Lenalee loosed an arrow into the far log wall, the noise and discovery of the projectile sending the four bandits still on watch scrambling out to search the brush and hills when they didn't see the attackers up in the rocks or anywhere else. When the camp had been cleared of outdoor sentries, they slipped down the rocks and to the wood door leading into the cave just beneath where the trio had previously been perched.

Beyond that was a room of earth supported by wood beams, likely an old, abandoned mine. Inside was a single guard, a woman dressed in iron armor that Allen rendered unconscious with a choke-hold without raising too much alarm. On her persons was a key opening an iron gate to let them further in.

Just past a tunnel leading further down was a room with ropes crisscrossing the ceiling that had lantern pots hanging from them. Just below a wood porch lay a dead mammoth and a pair of bandits, one an Orc and the other a Redguard woman, with the Orc muttering something about a sharp ax to 'cut through all the fat' and using a grindstone to sharpen just such an ax.

On the far side of the room was another Orc, much more heavily armored, and a fine chest that probably held some valuables. If the sword was here, it was probably in that chest. The three crouched behind stacked bags of food and salt silently.

Surveying the scene from above, Lavi was able to see the glimmer of a slick on the ground, looking like some kind of oil, likely flammable. Silently, he nudged Allen in the side, directing to it. The whitehead nodded to show he saw.

He turned and whispered something to Lenalee, but it was too quiet for Lavi to hear, then turned back to the redhead.

"Lavi, ignite your flames, position yourself to like up that oil, but _don't _use your fire. We're going to bluff our way through this."

The redhead nodded, though he looked somewhat skeptical. He didn't know most people, bandits included, to be particularly bright. He just hoped none among them were as clever as Allen had proven himself to be.

When they were ready, all three stood, Lenalee drawing her bow and pointing it at the heavily armored Orc, while Lavi ignited his flames.

"Hey!" Allen barked, making the bandits jump. The Redguard woman drew her bow, readying to use it.

"Drop it, or I'll light all of ya on fire!" Lavi warned her. "And where you're standin', you don't want that."

The woman paused and glanced down, going rigid as she realized what he meant.

"How did you get in here?!" the armored Orc snarled, looking as if he was debating just how bad it would really be to rush towards them and risk getting shot by an arrow.

"There's something we came here to retrieve. If you cooperate, no one will get hurt," Allen stated crisply.

"Is that so? And what of my other companions that you must have had to get past to reach this far?"

"The ones outside haven't even been touched, we just distracted them, that's all. And the one inside is only knocked out," Allen told him.

"What is it you want?"

"Its an iron sword, belonging to someone's father before them. We heard its probably here. If we have that, we'll leave peaceably, no further trouble."

"You can come and look for it, if you like," the Orc offered.

"No," Allen returned, not to be fooled. "I want you to bring it to us." He walked around Lavi and Lenalee, motioning for them to stay put, and stopped at the top of the ramp leading to where they stood. "You'll leave it at the bottom there. I'll see if its the right one, and then we'll be on our way. If it isn't here, same deal. We'll leave with no further trouble to you."

The Bandit Chief merely grunted and went about looking for an iron sword, specifically one that had a name etched into it as Allen specified. When he found one that did indeed match what they were looking for, he set it at the bottom of the platform and moved away when Allen told him to, Lenalee's arrows still trained on him and Lavi's flames ready to ignite the oil at the first hint of an attack.

Allen checked to make sure it checked out then nodded to Lavi and Lenalee as he walked back up to join them.

"Thank you. We'll be leaving you alone to go about your own business now."

They backed away, weapons still drawn, then turned and bolted up the passageway, knowing that they probably weren't going to be able to leave without being pursued. The sound of footsteps behind them on wood confirmed it, and they quickly filed out, trying to lock the iron door to slow down their pursuers, but not quickly enough before one reached it and rammed it open.

Deciding to forget the door, they turned and bolted for the entrance, only to run headlong into the four bandits from earlier who cut off their escape.

"Well, lookie here! A bunch of rats made it into our hideaway!"

The three stood back-to-back with weapons ready for a fight as the bandits drew weapons and readied spells in-hand. They started to close in, but froze as something _big _roared, a huge shadow flitting over them. They gaped skyward and started to back away, ready to go fleeing for safety themselves at the sight of a dragon swooping overhead.

Allen nudged Lenalee and Lavi hard in the ribs and nodded towards the exit of the camp, the two nodding to show they understood and not wasting even a second to bolt, the bandits too scattered and confused by the dragon's sudden appearance to stop them in time. A few arrows flew overhead or planted in the ground and log wall, but otherwise missed as the trio ran for where they'd left their horses.

"Timcanpy!" Allen shouted, whistling shrilly. The gold stallion appeared, the others following to meet them halfway. Allen immediately swung up into the saddle with ease, Lenalee and Lavi soon doing the same and nudging the equines into a gallop away from the camp. Only when it was well behind them did they spare a look at the dragon, which hadn't stopped to pick off any of them or the bandits. It was at that moment they realized exactly where it was headed.

"It's going to attack Whiterun!"


End file.
